Starless and Bible Black
by WatcheroftheSkies
Summary: Serving as a sequel to "And You and I", this story follows Nick and Judy's evolving relationship as they tackle a series of kidnappings in Zootopia.
1. Edge of Twilight

This is a direct sequel to my first story, "And You and I". It is suggested to read that first before continuing into this story.

This chapter uses the songs "From the Morning" and "Northern Sky" by Nick Drake. I will say at what point in the chapter to listen to each song. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Edge of Twilight**

Spring waited just around the corner, but the chill of winter still managed to linger in the air. As Nick slid the close door open and walked out on the balcony, he inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of the park across the street. Every so often, the scent of freshly cut grass would waft up to the balcony. Being constantly surrounded by the smells of urbanization, Nick enjoyed the momentary bliss. After letting out a sigh, he walked over to the railing and stared out over the park.

The sun had set almost half an hour prior, but still left small traces of pink on the distant horizon. Rooms of surrounding buildings remained dark while some emitted the glow of fluorescent lighting. Although Nick found himself more often than not missing the soothing environment of Bunny Burrow, he still found some comfort looking out over the calming nightlife of the city.

As Nick leaned over the railing on his apartment balcony, he found his mind wondering back to the previous months. It had been almost seven months since he and Judy solved the arson cases in Bunny Burrow. During that period of time, their relationship had only strengthened with each passing day. Sure, there were bumps along the way, but Nick expected every last one of them. There was no such thing as a perfect relationship. He viewed any relationship as being similar to owning a car. It needed to have periodical checkups and routine maintenance. If you just went about without occasionally checking for problems, then they day would come when your car would die on the side of the interstate. Small problems built up over time.

That's why every Thursday night, Nick had decided that he and Judy would both sit down and talk about anything they needed to let out. It had never been more than a small complaint about Nick not hanging his towel up to dry after a shower, or Judy leaving dirty dishes in the sink. To any other couple, these seemed like miniscule problems that shouldn't have any effect. Nick, however, knew that a small coolant leak would only grow worse as time went on and get into the engine. They had both made a promise to the other that there was no problem not worth mentioning.

"Has Finnick texted you back yet?"

Nick was pulled from his thoughts as Judy stepped onto the balcony, a glass of wine in each hand.

"Let me check."

Nick chuckled as he spoke and pulled his phone from the pocket of his jacket. He had grown into the habit of just slipping on a zip-up hoodie after a post-workout shower. Knowing how much it teased Judy, he left it zipped only halfway up. There was nothing she loved more than feeling the luscious beige fur of his chest.

"He just sent me one. It looks like he'll be here in ten minutes. Let me go ahead and text him the door code."

As the pads of fingers pattered away on the screen, Judy placed the stem of a wine glass in his paw. He placed the rim to his muzzle and took a sip.

"Blueberry? Damn, Carrots, where did you find this?"

Judy giggled and took another sip from her glass. She stepped close to Nick, resting her head underneath his arm. Now that Nick had begun to work out more often, she had grown to love the feeling of his every-growing muscles. It was nothing really impressive, but was enough to make Judy sigh in pleasure.

"Don't sound so amazed. It came from the bottom shelf at the gas station by the ZPD Headquarters."

Nick let out a laugh as he took another sip.

"I thought you like the expensive stuff I bought?"

"To be honest, I can't tell the difference a ten dollar and a thousand dollar bottle. There's no distinguishing for me. All I care about is that it's, at the very least, mid-sweet."

Nick finished off his glass, turning to head inside for another.

"Already finished" Judy asked over her shoulder, a hint of amusement present in her tone.

"You know how much I love blueberries. This almost tastes as good as the blueberry lube you bought. There was nothing sweeter than licking it from your-"

"Our neighbors are out as well, Nick."

Nick peaked his head out the door, gazing at the balcony next to theirs. The elderly raccoon couple next door had set down the books they were reading, their jaws dropped down in awe and disgust. The female dropped her coffee mug, shattering it into multiple ceramic fragments.

"Sorry! He just loves to tease!"

Without saying a word, the couple hurried inside and shut their sliding door closed. Judy turned to face the inside of their apartment, her face donning a look of playful anger towards Nick. As he turned from the kitchen with a full wine glass, he caught sight of her expression.

"Did that seriously make you angry?"

Judy tossed back her glass.

"No, but your comment doesn't exactly make me want to laugh either." She spoke with a hint of amusement to her tone, failing to keep a false falsetto of anger. "I guess we'll never get to know them well, thanks to you."

Nick pulled an album from his collection and removed the record from the jacket. As he placed it on the turntable platter and dropped the stylus into a groove, he replied to her.

"In case you haven't notice, they've never been too fond of us to begin with. Whether or not it's because we're an interspecies couple, or because Fangmyer threw up about one hundred dollars' worth of Scotch in front of their door after the party we hosted last week, what I just said doesn't really put us in a worse position."

Begin "Oh Darling"

As he walked back outside, he found that Judy had turned to face out over the city. Whenever she turned her back to anyone during a conversation, it meant something was bugging her. Whenever she did it to him, she was either fooling around or was bothered by something almost insignificantly small.

"Alright, Carrots, what's up? I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess it was what I just said."

Judy gave him a small smile as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder. No matter what her mood, she was always overcome with calmness when she felt the warmth emitting from his body. Inhaling without making a sound, she took in his scent mixed with that of his blueberry wine.

"I know you meant it as a joke, Nick. It's just that I don't want people thinking badly about us. I know you have a sense of humor that borders on the line of revolting sometimes, but I just wish you would check your surroundings before you make those kind of jokes. You never know who could be listening."

Nick took a sip from his glass, letting his thoughts process for a few moments. After a pause, he set the glass down on the flat top of square railing. Looking down at Judy, he kept an arm on her as she continued to look out over the city.

"You're right, Carrots. I guess I should be more cautious of who could be listening to us sometimes. From here on out, I promise I'll make good on that."

Judy nuzzled into his side, rubbing a paw over the soft fur of his chest exposed through the jacket.

"But…"

She stopped swirling around in his fur, but couldn't bring herself to pull her paw away from the taught muscles of Nick's stomach.

"But?"

Nick finished off the remainants of his glass. He rested it back down, causing a soft _clink_ to momentarily fill the air.

"It's my turn for you to hear me out."

All though Judy typically fought any counterarguments, she had grown to make an exception with Nick. Knowing full well that he knew when to act serious and abuse an opportunity for rebuttal, she decided to hear him out.

"Alright, fine. Go right ahead."

"Not everybody has to like you; or us for that matter."

Judy turned her gaze from the lights and gazed up into Nick's emerald eyes. Her mind at first raced with thoughts of confusion, but she knew that Nick always had a reason for saying something. She may not have always agreed with the logic behind his words, but she never that he never just said something without a force driving that thought.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to win over the affection of everyone. There will be mammals in this world who won't want to be our friend. I know you want the neighbors to think of us as the flawless couple who lives a fantasy life. We may not have a completely flawless relationship, but it's extremely damn close. Those two don't see it like that though."

Judy opened her mouth to try and let out a response, but Nick stopped her with a finger placed over her lips. With his arm still draped over her shoulder, he pulled her a tad closer.

"In my personal opinion, they will never see us to be anything more than the two freaks that live next door. I know you want them to like us, but you need to consider that some mammals just don't change. And to be perfectly honest, I'm alright with that. Let them keep thinking what they think. They're not going to change."

Judy looked down, an expression of sadness beginning to form. No matter how much she wanted to pout, she kept telling herself that Nick had a legitimate point he was trying to make. Letting him see that it upset her surely would not better the situation.

"But that doesn't mean they have to affect how you enjoy your life. Mammals can go around disliking us, and that doesn't have to affect our lives. Just remember one thing for me, Judy."

He placed a paw under her chin, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. There was no sign of joking or anything that would make Judy think he was not being fully serious with her.

"Never let them see that they get to you. That's how they win. Keep your head held high and walk tall with pride."

Nick fully embraced her. Judy continued to feel his stomach, his muscles slightly tensing under her touch. As Nick rested his chin on top of her head, she shut her eyes and let her mind wonder off. There was nothing more comforting to her than being held by Nick. As soon as they stepped into the apartment, the seemingly impenetrable outer shell he wore in public would open up to let her in. Under the relaxed exterior he displayed to the public, there was a soft side. Judy had never known a more tender mammal in her entire life.

"Carrots?"

Judy was reeled back out of her thoughts, suddenly returning to the reality.

"What?"

"Did you not just give me a lecture about checking my surroundings? I know no one is out here to see us, but I think the raccoons next door would've had a heart attack had they still been out here to watch us."

Judy looked down to find that her paw had slipped beneath the waistband of Nick's sweatpants. She was surprised that the heat radiating from his crotch hadn't pulled her attention back a while ago.

"I… I didn't even realize. I'm sorry."

Quickly withdrawing her paw, the insides of her ears quickly blushed a deep crimson.

"It's okay. I fully understand. Even after taking a cold shower, it still manages to retain a decent size."

She reached up and punched his shoulder.

"Learn to take joke, will you" Nick asked with a laugh as he rubbed the impacted area. Part of the action was a show, but part was because Judy could actually pack a decent punch given her size. His attention was pulled back inside the apartment as three knocks echoed to his ears.

"I'm going to take a guess and say that's Finnick."

Turning from Judy, he walked back inside the apartment. As he continued to the front door, he could make out the faint outline of his small fennec friend through the frosted glass. Opening the door, it revealed that Finnick was straightening… a tie. Nick hadn't even expected him to show up in his green shorts and polo shirt with the red stripe. Never before had Finnick shown the initiative, or even the desire, to dress respectfully.

"Now you're really making me feel like I overdressed." His low, booming voice seemed to shake the glass in the door frame. Nick glanced down, suddenly realizing he was still wearing his hoodie and sweatpants.

"I apologize. It completely escaped me to go change."

Finnick grabbed his arm, pulling his head down to his level. He balled his paw into a fist and tapped the top of Nick's skull.

"I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. That bunny is messing with your mind."

Releasing Nick from his grasp, Finnick stepped over the threshold and into the apartment. As he walked past, Nick caught a whiff of… cologne? Shutting the door, Nick turned and continued towards the hallway which led to his and Judy's shared bedroom.

"Just give me a minute to change. Go in the kitchen and enjoy yourself a drink."

He vanished around the corner, leaving Finnick to his own desires. As his mind became excited over the thought of a cold beer while entering the kitchen, he was soon face-to-face with Judy. For the evening, she had donned a simple, yet elegant, lavender dress. The ears that had been lying flat against the back of her head up until this point suddenly swiveled up as she caught sight of Finnick.

"Well hey Lil' Toot Toot!"

As she jokingly reached out to pinch a cheek, he caught her wrist. His face had morphed into the typical demeanor of 'pissed off' that Judy had become accustomed to over time. But behind his furrowed brow and piercing stare, she thought she could see a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"You'll never let that go will you?"

As Finnick walked past her to retrieve a drink from the refrigerator, Judy could do nothing else but stand speechless. At the very least, she had expected Finnick to return her gesture with a growl and clicking his sharp teeth together. Something had changed in him. He was… happy…

"Alright, all changed!"

Nick emerged from the hallway, wearing a pair of black slacks and a dark blue dress shirt. Even with his shirt tucked neatly into his pants without so much as a crease or fold, he still managed to wear his tie slightly loose. It never amazed Judy that no matter how dressed up he got, Nick always kept his ties from having a stranglehold on his neck.

"It smells great in here, Carrots! What are you cooking?"

Judy continued to stir the pot resting atop the stove. Steam billowed from inside and slowly climbed towards the ceiling before fading into nothingness.

"Carrot soup."

Finnick looked at Nick, opening his mouth and pointing a finger inside. To avoid drawing Judy's attention, he decided to not let out a fake gagging sound.

"I also have some crickets baking in the oven for the two of you. Big, strong predators need their energy."

Nick walked up behind Judy, giving her sides a gentle squeeze. Out of stupefaction, Judy dropped her wooden spoon and it disappeared into the boiling orange liquid.

"I will _definitely_ be needing some energy tonight."

Judy quickly rotated her head over her shoulder and shot Nick a cold glare. Unaffected by her silent threat, Nick opened a draw to his right and pulled out another spoon.

"Don't act like you should be embarrassed. You see that _tiny_ fox standing over there?"

"You're pushing it, Nick" Finnick mumbled, a growl managing to sneak its way into his tone.

"Well, Carrots, that fennec fox over there has no right to be judging you when it comes to our… _night activities._ You see, when it comes to his personal love life, we're saints by comparison."

Finnick's scowl only worsened as Nick met eyes with him. His pupils had shrunk in his hazelnut irises, now fully transformed into concentrated beams of anger.

"Since I fear for my own wellbeing, I'll just leave it at this. Let's just say that Finnick has, on more than one occasion, been known to bring rope and handcuffs into his van."

"Alright, Nick, that's enough!"

Finnick's voice sonorously echoed around the apartment. Even after all the years they had been friends, Judy felt Nick slightly tense up behind her, knowing he still had a respectful fear of his friend. The small fennec was not to ever be underestimated.

"Calm down, buddy."

The oven's timer caught everyone's attention, momentarily causing the room to go silent. Judy, however, swore that she could faintly hear the sound of Finnick's outburst from moments before still bouncing off the walls.

"Sounds like dinner's ready. Shall we eat?"

Finnick shook his head, walking into the kitchen to lend a helping paw. His brow had unfurrowed, but small traces of his outrage where still present in the way he moved. Judy handed him a bowl and plate. As he took them, it took all his willpower to not rudely snatch from her grasp. He knew deep down inside that his anger should only be pointed at Nick.

"I set our places at the table. You're sitting at the head."

Finnick nodded a silent thank you and walked over to the dining room table. As he approached, he took notice that one of them had given him a taller chair to sit in. Whenever he would visit anyone else, there was either a stack of books placed on the chair or a booster seat. For the first time in his life, someone sat him at eye level with the rest of the guests without demeaning him.

"I know you want to keep your dignity."

Nick had snuck up behind him, carrying his own meal. As he sit the dishes down at his place, he gave Finnick a grin. It wasn't his typically conman expression; no, this was pure respect for Finnick.

"It's always fun to fuck with you, but that doesn't mean I still don't respect you."

Finnick found his anger gone, realizing that it was completely pointless to hold a grudge on Nick. Sure, he sometimes crossed the line, but that never meant that he still had no respect for his small friend.

"Thanks, Nick. That means a lot."

Nick nodded and took his seat. Finnick hopped up onto his chair as Judy walked in from the kitchen.

"So Finn, what's new with you", Nick asked with his mouth full. Judy cast him a glare of aggravation, easily notifying him of his lack of table etiquette.

"Nothing much. I'm still just doing the same old hustles to get by. At first, it was difficult without you. But I was quickly able to adapt."

Finnick took his spoon and began eating from the steaming bowl of carrot soup.

"C'mon Finny", Nick let out with a chuckle. "Do you really think that after all the years I've known you, I wouldn't be able to tell when you were lying?"

Finnick paused, his mouth open and the spoon stopped in front. Not being at nearly the level of deceitfulness as Nick, he found trouble in hiding his surprise.

"The second you stepped in the door dressed so nicely, I knew something had to askew. There were two problems with that. Number one: I have never seen you wear a dress shirt under your own freewill. The last time that happened, I had to force into one for a hustle. Number two: what you're wearing easily costs about two months' payout from hustles."

Finnick continued to sit motionless, his gaze not daring to meet Nick's as it remained turned towards the living room windows.

"Don't be afraid to tell me anything, Finnick. You've been like a brother to me for God knows how many years. There should be nothing that you're afraid to tell me. Please, just tell me the truth."

Letting out a sigh and dropping his spoon back into the bowl in front of him, he placed his elbows on the table. He cracked his knuckles and finished off the last of his beer. Making eye contact with Nick, Finnick did something Nick had only seen a handful of times. He smiled. This, however, was not the façade he put on during hustles, or when his force contorted with laughter at some other mammal's expense. No, this was legitimate… _happiness_.

"You just couldn't let me surprise you, could you Nick?"

Finnick lightly laughed, causing Nick's mind to stir with confusion. There had only been a handful of times in his life that Nick had seen his best friend actually happy. He hadn't expected anything like this to occur when Finnick had called him an hour ago.

"Since you really want to know, I…"

Nick and Judy both leaned in, their ears perked up as they prepared themselves for the bombshell.

"I got a job."

"You… you actually got a real job?"

"As hard as it may be for you to believe, yeah, I did."

After recovering from his momentary shock, Nick shook his head.

"What made you decide to stop hustling?"

"Well, it was you, or in this case, the absence of you. You and I both know that I am _not_ the type to go around sharing my feelings. It would usually take dangling me over a bridge before you could get me to say anything. Since you're my brother, I'll make an exception."

Finnick gestured to Judy, who had now propped her head up with her elbows on the table.

"I'll make an exception with you, too, Judy. You make my brother happy, so you make my happy."

She caught her gasp before it escaped her throat. This was the first time she had ever heard Finnick to refer to her by her real name and not a nickname like Nick constantly did. Not that the nicknames upset her, but the use of her real name had thrown her off guard.

"As I was saying, things really changed after you left for the police academy. When you and I met some fifteen odd years ago, that day erased something from me that had been plaguing me since I was a kit. You got rid of that sense of loneliness.

"Why don't you two go out on the balcony and enjoy your drinks? I can make dinner!"

Nick and Finnick looked at each and nodded in agreement. Finnick grabbed his beer can and Nick snatched the bottle of blueberry wine from the bottle. Although he hadn't planned on finishing it off tonight, that idea had died almost an hour ago. Pouring the remaining wine into his glass, Nick walked back to his turntable and placed another record on. Dropping the stylus, he walked out with Finnick onto the balcony.

Begin "Us and Them"

Nick pulled a chair up against the railing, allowing Finnick to stand at his height and lean on the railing. He hopped up on the chair, resting his beer can on the railing and crossing his arms.

"Alright, Nick, I had my interrogation time at the dinner time. Now it's your turn. What's up with you?"

"Just the typical shit. You wake up early, slave away at work, come home, eat, sleep, and mindlessly repeat the process all over again in the morning."

Finnick chuckled and took a sip from his can.

"You mean to tell me that there's absolutely _nothing_ interesting going on at work?"

Nick sipped his wine.

"Well, Judy and I like to spice things up every once in a while."

"Let me take a guess. The perfect role model of a cop you call your girlfriend won't go further than a small practical joke. Something tells me she would be horrified to have a group of fellow officers but a lottery ticket together."

"Actually, I plowed her in the evidence room."

Finnick choked on his beer. In an attempt to keep the bitter liquid in his mouth, he failed as it escaped over the railing. From below, they could hear two mammals yell out as they were drenched in the bitter liquid.

"You're shitting me."

"Not one bit."

"How in the hell did you manage to convince her? I highly doubt that she actually went along with it."

"You see, my fennec, that's exactly where you're wrong. Take notice of the time of the year. It's almost Spring. Two foxes, such as ourselves, wouldn't think much of this time of year. But for bunnies, it means only one thing. Mating season."

"You really do love her, don't you?"

Nick kept his attention pointed out over the park.

"I do. I really, really do."

Finnick could tell that his mind was hard at work. Although it was impossible to take even a small peak at what was rushing through that clever brain of his, Finnick could tell he

"Have you considered proposing to her?"

This slightly threw Nick off guard. Although his eyes had opened slightly wider, the remainder of his complexation maintained a subtle calmness.

"Many times."

"So when do you think you'll actually do it?"

Nick let out a sigh, his chest heaving. He hadn't planned on discussing this with anyone, but Finnick had given him no other choice. After all, he had left the little guy to fend for himself since he became a cop. He felt it was only right to open up to him.

"I'm not sure yet. I just know it'll be soon."

"You feel like you've waited long enough?"

"I do. Just don't think I'm a coward or anything. It's not I haven't waited long enough. I just don't know how to do it. The only thing I fear now is either going way over the top or completely low-balling it."

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	2. Bryter Layter

**Chapter 2: Bryter Layter**

With the harsh rays of the rising sun beaming into his apartment, Nick's eyes struggled to open. He stretched an arm across his vision to shield his eyes from the brutal, blinding light.

"Damn it…"

After a few moments of adjusting, he managed to open his eyes to mere slits. Leaning over the nightstand and checking his phone, he realized there was almost an hour until he and Judy had to leave for work. It occurred to him that it was almost impossible for him to fall back asleep once awake. Concluding he might as well be productive, Nick grabbed his phone. He placed his feet on the floor and slowly stood up to avoid making any noise.

"Oh shit."

Nick looked down to find himself completely naked. It had slipped his mind what he and Judy had done last night. Every time they finished, Judy always forced him to sleep in the nude. Although he preferred to sleep in just a pair of boxers, Judy enjoyed snuggling into him. She wanted absolutely nothing separating or getting in their way. He looked down to find his sweatpants thrown haphazardly onto the floor. Picking them up, he put in one leg at a time and lifted the waistband up, letting the elastic slap against his waist.

"Mmmhhnn…"

Nick turned to find Judy had turned over in her sleep. Her mouth hanging slightly open and mumbling, she placed a paw where Nick usually lay next to her. Discovering his absence, her face slightly contorted in confusion. This soon gave way to sadness beginning to form.

"Nick…" she murmured. Although it was barely intelligible, Nick knew exactly what she had been trying to say.

Nick kneeled on the bed, leaning down to place a kiss on top of her head. The worry melted away from Judy's face as her dozing mind found comfort in his touch.

"That's right, Carrots. Just go ahead and keep sleeping."

He ran a paw over her ears. As he stroked her, a smile grew on her face. Nick slid his pillow in front of her in hopes that she would be able to recognize his scent on it. She nuzzled the pillow, wrapped it in her paws, and drew it closer to her sleeping form.

Leaving her in the bedroom, Nick walked down the hallway for the kitchen. Upon entering, he was met with the sight of even more sunlight flooding into the living room. Although he had gotten used to it by now, it still was not enjoyable. He continued on into the kitchen and turned on their coffee maker. As the smell of dark roast began to fill the apartment, he opened the door to the balcony.

"What a morning…"

Taking a deep breath of the crisp air, he found himself slightly cold. By this point, he was completely unaware that he had not put on a shirt. He stood in his sweatpants with his bare chest and stomach facing directly into the air. Spring could not come soon enough. When the rise in temperature finally did arrive, Nick knew he would be taking full advantage of it.

Deciding to put up with the feeling, Nick pulled his phone from his pocket. He unlocked it and began scrolling through his contacts list. Upon finding the number he desired, the pad of his finger hesitated. It loomed over the touchscreen and refused to press the 'call' button.

"C'mon, you can do this. It needs to be done."

Mustering up the courage, he hit the button and lifted the phone up to his ear.

"And just how is my favorite couple doing this morning?!"

Nick shuttered at the high pitched voice of Clawhauser. No matter how many times he walked through the front doors of the ZPD, the cheetah's greetings always got under his skin.

"We're doing well. And how are you?" Judy always took the effort to respond every time. If Nick did not have a fear of her ranting for hours back home about his rudeness, he would just completely ignore every word from Clawhauser's mouth.

"I'm doing just super!"

Nick watched as he reached down to his pants and started searching for his phone.

 _Oh shit… fuck me!_

Before Nick got a chance to run, Clawhauser turned on his phone and pointed the screen in their direction.

"You two just _have_ to check out this new Gazelle app I got!"

 _Why couldn't I have died on the way to work?_

"That's nice Benji, but we really have to get going to the bullpen. We're a few minutes later than usual."

Behind the cover of the tall desk, Nick reached behind Judy and gave her tail a pinch. In return, he received a sharp jab to the stomach. He did his best to conceal his pain, not wanting to give any further reason for discussion with the cheetah.

"Well you two enjoy the rest of your day!"

As they walked away, they both gave a parting wave. Nick, however, put in as minimal effort as possible. Giving a half-assed goodbye, he followed Judy in the direction of the bullpen.

"Would it kill you to have just one decent conversation with him? A touch of kindness won't kill you, Nicholas."

Raising a finger in protest and taking a deep breath, Nick prepared himself for one hell of a counterargument.

"First off; don't call me Nicholas. It's just weird and unnecessary. Second; you and I both know quite well that Clawhauser has a tendency to talk _way_ past what is tolerant. And when I use the word tolerant, I'm being _very_ generous. And lastly; I have had a decent conversation with him. In fact, I've had at least three. To you, that doesn't seem to help my situation. But tell me this, Carrots. You and I both know that no normal mammal can withstand daily interaction of such a caliber with him. I _know_ that even a kind mammal, such as yourself, as to put at least some effort worth combating your desire to run from his talking. No normal mammal can take a daily dose of high-pitched squealing and Gazelle trivia without at least _some_ desire to run away. Now tell me, am I wrong?"

Both of them now stood in front of the bullpen door. Nick had both paws in his pockets and was glaring down at Judy with a smug sense of accomplishment spread across his muzzle. Judy remained silent, her mind completely lost in how to respond. As painful as it was, she couldn't find anything to dispute that he was right.

"That's what I thought."

He leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. It was nothing completely mind-blowing, but enough to pull Judy from her thoughts.

"Now let's go. We have just over a minute to get in our chair."

Pulling open the door, Nick held it for Judy as she walked in ahead.

"Wipe that defeated look from your face, Carrots. Now we can look forward to today's assignment."

Sitting down in their shared seat, they both stared at attention to the front of the room.

"Not so much as a peep out of you, Carrots? I guess that's just admittance that I won this round."

Turning to give him a glare, Judy couldn't keep a smile from forming. No matter how hard she could try, she always knew that Nick would see right through her false anger.

"I don't need to justify that with a response, Mr. Fox."

"But you just did."

Nick turned and gave her a grin.

"Damn it, Nick!" she hissed under breath to avoid any fellow officers hearing.

"C'mon, Carrots. Learn to watch your fucking language. Profanity isn't very becoming."

If Chief Bogo had not entered to the front of the room, Judy was fully prepared to pounce on her fox. Instead, she swallowed her desires of assault and faced forward.

"Alright everyone, settle down."

The roar of conversation slowly died down as Bogo pulled reading glasses from his pocket. Placing them over his large snout, he ran his hooves through a stack of folders.

"The only news for today is the ongoing investigation of child abductions. Our private detectives are currently processing evidence from all five current cases. What was believed to be a link between two of the cases has ended up falling flat."

This caused a sigh of defeat to fill the room.

"I understand that this isn't any good news like you had wanted to hear. Just remember to keep your eyes peeled when on patrol. Since our officers have started patrolling local parks and playgrounds, we've yet to have another kidnapping. Keep this up, and we can hopefully keep the number of victims where it currently stands. Is that understood?"

This was received with silent nods of understanding from the officers.

"Moving on. When I call your name or names, please come forwards to receive any new assignments. If you know you are not receiving one, then leave. There's no point in lounging around when you have work to be done. That means _you_ , Wolford and Fangmyer!"

The two wolves scrambled from their chairs, running out the door.

"Those two assholes are going to get it one day" Bogo mumbled under his breath as he handed Delgato a case file.

"Alright, Hopps and Wilde."

They both straightened their posture, awaiting orders from the looming figure of the cape buffalo.

"Am I correct in saying that the two of you busted a drug transport vehicle yesterday?"

"Yes we did, Chief."

Judy found it difficult to keep pride from slipping into her tone. No matter how many times it happened, she always felt a sense of accomplishment after finishing up any sort of case.

"Well then… I must say that I'm thoroughly impressed. Considering that our best veteran officers on the team couldn't track down that truck for almost two months, you really did an outstanding job."

"Thank you, Chief", the two of them let out in unison.

"I think it's only deserving that both of you receive the rest of the day off. There are no other cases to solve that I don't already have other officers on. Dismissed."

Without giving them another glance, Bogo folded his glasses and left the room. Being left in complete dismay, Nick and Judy spent a decent amount of time staring at the front of the room in silence.

"A day off?"

Nick broke the silence, but managed to keep his gaze forward.

"We haven't had one of those in at least four months."

Hopping down from the chair, Nick stretched and let out a long yawn. He cracked his back while continuing to the door.

"Well I don't know about you, but I want to go back home and sleep. I want to take full advantage of this since I woke up early."

Judy followed behind him. She did not have to move fast to catch up with her boyfriend's sluggish pace.

"So you're just going to spend the day napping? That sounds like a waste of a good opportunity."

Nick outstretched a paw and patted the top of her head.

"Don't fret now, Carrots. I have someone special planned for us this afternoon."

This caused Judy's ears to perk up at attention.

"Oh really? And just what would that be?"

"You honestly think I'm going to tell? What's the fun in keeping a secret if you just let it out without torturing someone with it?"

* * *

Glancing at the watch on his wrist, Finnick switched the power off on the tire changer. After being assigned to his station earlier that morning, time went by at a moderate rate. This was impart due to his music keeping his mind from wandering, but mainly his boss being able to watch him from the window office. The building was one long room with six hydraulic lifts evenly spaced on the shop floor. Finnick had been put in charge of the tire and wheel station. Being placed in close proximity to his boss's office window, the tire changing station is where the new employees always started. This allowed the shop owner to oversee any new employee.

Finnick grabbed his phone from the table beside him and pulled out the key to his van. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten lunch on a schedule he hadn't created. Although it slightly irritated the small fennec that his day life was run on a timeline created by another mammal, he just kept reminding himself that it was for the better. Change may be hard to swallow at first, but tasted sweet after the bitterness faded.

Being pulled from his thoughts as he walked across the concrete shop floor, Finnick took notice of a hyena at work on a red Camaro. Although he didn't think too much about the noise at first, he soon recognized the hum of a power sander. If there was one thing his ample ear size was useful for, it was picking up the slightest details in sound.

"A power sander? On paint?"

Diverting from his path towards the rear exit, Finnick continued towards the ongoing body work. Even with his inconvenient height, he was able to peer onto the hood of the low vehicle. The flawless sheen of the clear coat had been scratched away to expose the metal underneath.

"You need something, little one?"

The statement pulled Finnick's attention from the awful repair job and to the hyena's puzzled expression. Whether or not the mammal actually believed Finnick was a child, he still took it as an insult. Remembering to keep a professional demeanor, he held his tongue and kept a straight face.

"I'm actually the new employee."

Finnick's deep and booming voice caused the hyena to lean back. Although it was mainly in shock of the fennec's unexpected tone, there was still an ounce of fear driving his reaction.

"My apologies. I'm guessing I'm not the first to make that mistake?"

Ignoring his question, Finnick motioned to the exposed patch of metal on the hood.

"So what are you doing sanding down to the metal?"

The hyena continued his work, rubbing a cleaning cloth over the exposed base of the hood.

"The hood needs to be repainted. A rock was thrown up into the engine bay and dented the hood out. Apparently the dent was deep enough to where it cracked the primer and paint when it pushed the metal out. So I formed the metal back down, and now I'm just sanding it down."

After a few moments of inspecting the rest of the hood's paint, he ran a paw over the transition from the existing paint to the metal.

"I can feel that the paint dips down to the metal. It's one of those things where you can't see it, but you can sure as hell feel it."

The hyena gave Finnick a puzzled look before running his paw over the patch. To his amazement, he found that Finnick was absolutely right.

"We have a process for filling in that dip. Is there some other method you would suggest?" The last sentence was spoken with an obvious sense of sarcasm.

Finnick walked around the front end of the car, examining the work area in multiple different light angles. Pausing when he reached the passenger side fender, Finnick shoved his paws in his pockets and looked back to the hyena.

"Personally, I would strip the entire hood down. Then go ahead and prime and paint it."

"Everything all right over here?"

Both mammals turned to find a tiger looming over the roof of the low sports car. Walking around, he rested his elbows on the hood of the Camaro. He gave both of his employees a neutral stare, begging for his question to be answered.

"Everything's perfectly fine, Mr. Rawlings."

The tiger nodded to the hyena then quickly diverted his attention to Finnick.

"I thought it was time for your lunch break, Mr. Collins?"

Wincing at the use of his last name, Finnick stomached his pride and turned to his boss. Although he couldn't bring himself to put on a large grin, he still managed to muster up a small smile.

"Yes, Mr. Rawlings. I was, but I got distracted on the way out by, by…"

He turned to the hyena, silently asking for his name.

"Roger."

Finnick nodded, turning back to his boss.

"by Roger. I saw him power sanding the hood and became curious."

Mr. Rawlings slammed a paw on the hood as he let out a small laugh. This caused both Roger and Finnick to jump. The hyena startled out of sheer fear for his boss's strength. Finnick startled at the possibility of the tiger denting the hood with the strength he often underestimated.

"It's not even the end of your first day and you're already sneaking away to hand with the big guys! You really do have an itch for big jobs, don't you?"

"Well, I was just wondering why you thought it was best to sand the existing paint down into the base metal."

The tiger paused as he gave the fennec a glance of confusion. It was at this moment it dawned on Finnick that this may be the closest Mr. Rawlings had ever been to being confronted. Whether or not this decision benefited him or not, Finnick stood tall.

"My employees typically spread an extremely thin layer of body filler into that dip and smooth it out. Once it's flush with the existing paint, it's sanded and sprayed over."

He gave Finnick a grin. Deep down inside, he felt that the explanation he had given was going to be perfectly suitable.

"That's just the thing boss. I don't think that's the best route to go."

Roger's eyes went wide. He looked down at Finnick, using his fearful expression to express his concern for Finnick's wellbeing.

Mr. Rawlings opened his mouth to protest. Finnick lifted a paw, causing the tiger to pause midway as he took a breath.

"Let me explain. I understand that it may be the cheaper alternative to just sand away the blemished area of the paint and blend it in to match the rest. But in the long run, you're actually putting more time into this method than if you were to strip the section completely."

Finnick paused, making sure his boss had kept with his pace. Instead of yelling at the fennec or grabbing him by the ears and throwing him through a window, Mr. Rawlings nodded.

"Please continue."

"By the end of the repair, you've invested more labor hours into filling in the patch than it would take to just simply strip the hood and repaint it all. I've used a product called aircraft remover quite a few times. You just brush it over the paint and wait ten minutes. It eats away the clear coat, paint and primer, leaving you with bare metal. After scooping off the gelled paint, it's simple as sanding, priming and painting the base metal."

The tiger's eyes darted to a foreign corner of the shop, his mind deep in thought. As he stared, Finnick struggled to decipher his boss's expression. Whether it was one of doubt or deep consideration was soon to be determined.

"How long would it take to do a repair job like this using that method?"

Finnick blew out a puff of air, running his paw over the hood of the car for show.

"I would say an four hours for prepping the hood. Then just add on whatever you usually quote for primer, paint and clear coat."

The tiger ran one of his large paws over his ears as he sucked in a deep breath. Pulling his eyes from wherever they had been staring, he met Finnick's gaze.

"That's saving me quite a lot of time on labor hours. I had originally quoted about eight to ten hours to prep the hood for painting."

Turning back to Roger, Mr. Rawlings placed the tip of one of his claws into the bare metal patch. Tracing around the edge of the sanded paint, he went another few seconds of staying in silent thought.

"How much time have you put into this hood already, Roger?"

"About two hours." The hyena stood at attention. Even though he too was a predator, he still had a sense of fear when it came to his boss.

"Alright, here's the deal. I'm going to place an order with the chemical company in Tundra Town. They should be able to get a few gallons of that aircraft stripper here within an hour. When Mr. Col-, Finnick, gets back from his lunch break, it should be here."

Turning now to Finnick, the tiger gave him a nod.

"I trust you can assist Roger in stripping the paint?"

Finnick was taken slightly aback by the proposition. It was hardly half way through his first day on the job, and he had already been promoted to body work. Perhaps climbing the ranks was going to be quicker than he originally anticipated.

"But sir, I still have some more work to do at the tire station."

The word "sir" had not been muttered by the small Fennec for years; at least, not in a sarcastic manner.

"Don't worry about that. My sister has been bugging me about getting a part-time job for her son over the summer. My nephew may not be the brightest bulb, but he can follow basic instructions quite well. I'll just give her a call and say to drop him off."

With that, Mr. Rawlings turned from the fox and hyena. As he continued back to his office, Finnick could tell that he was still running the numbers through his head.

"Alright Roger, I have to get going. It looks like that talk ate away ten minutes of my lunch break that I'm not getting back"

"I might as well join you. Sitting along at the sandwich shop isn't exactly the most pleasurable experience."

Finnick ran a paw over the hood of the Camaro. His black shirt with the red stripe had long been tossed over a nearby chair. Leaving him with just a white sleeveless undershirt, the prep work took full advantage of the situation. The white shirt was coated in a film of fine metal powder. He and Roger had spent almost three hours hand-sanding the hood. Finnick had confronted Mr. Rawlings once again while the aircraft stripper dissolved the paint to a thick slime.

He had spent almost ten minutes explaining why using sanding blocks would prevent slight warping when the paint dried. Not arguing with his surprisingly extensive knowledge of body work, the tiger simply nodded in approval. Finnick had left the office and joined Roger in removing the old paint. After washing the hood of any residue left by the chemicals, they spent nearly four hours sanding the hood. The time went by quickly as the duo conversed while they worked.

"I have to say, Finnick, it really did turn out looking great."

Finnick dusted his paw on his green shorts, leaving a gray streak in its wake.

"It's just like I said earlier. In the end, it really is worth putting in the extensive detail. When the final product comes out the paint booth tomorrow afternoon, it'll really prove just how important the preparation is."

Finnick placed both paws on his hips. As he stood tall, at least as tall as he could be, the fennec admired the fruits of his labor. He may have stayed half an hour past the end of the work day, but all his work as worth it. Deep inside, he knew that the effort and passion he put into his job on the first day spoke wonders to Mr. Rawlings.

"Well I don't know about you, but I have to get going. If I don't get home soon, my girlfriend will have me sleeping out on the curb tonight."

Roger grabbed his phone and car keys from a nearby tool cabinet and headed towards the exit. Turning on his heels, he walked backwards and shot Finnick a finger pistol.

"I'll see tomorrow!"

Finnick gave him a smile. This was not the typical show he put on during a hustle or when he was laughing at some other mammal's expense. Finnick was actually giving a genuine smile.

"Get some sleep, Roger. You're going to need it!"

Finnick's voice echoed around the vaulting ceiling of the shop. With a loud thud, the exit closed. Finnick was now left alone on the shop floor, signaling that it was time for him to gather his stuff and leave as well. He grabbed his wallet and keys from a table against the back wall. Placing the wallet in his pocket, his glanced up to see the lights in Mr. Rawlings go out. The tiger opened his door and leaned out to face the fox. Giving him a thumbs-up with a paw the size of Finnick's head, he gave a warm smile.

"Great job today, Finnick! If you keep performing like this every day, you'll find yourself going places!"

With a slam of the door, Mr. Rawlings walked to the front of the building to look the main entrance.

"Change is coming" Finnick let out, knowing there was no one else to hear him.

"And for the first time in a while, it's working out in my favor."

As he walked to the exit, Finnick found himself singing. Although there was no audience to listen, the fox continued to let out a memory from deep in his childhood.

" _For the times... they are a-changin'…"_

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	3. Moonlight Mile

**Chapter 3: Moonlight Mile**

"I'm _so sorry_ that you can't always have everything your way, but that does absolutely nothing in justifying what you did! Are you honestly expecting me to not hold your actions against you because you got bored?"

The tod slammed his clenched paw on the desk, causing a booming thud to echo through the study. What his voice lacked in intimidation, he made up for in his build. Being of more than average physique, Vincent stood tall with far beyond intimidation.

"Don't you _dare_ speak to me like that! I am your wife, and deserve to be treated with respect!"

Anne wagged a finger in front of her husband, her face donning a look of disgust. She immediately regretted the decision when she saw Vincent's face begin to twist with anger.

"Respect? Why the hell should I be giving you any kind of respect when I just caught your slutty ass sleeping with the neighbor?! You should consider yourself lucky that I haven't thrown you out of _my_ house through a window!"

Under the gray fur of his face, Vincent could feel his skin burning with blistering fury. Typically his short fuse of a temper would have burned down by now, but he somehow managed to find even a small shred of self-control.

"I told you I was sorry! What else do you want out of me, Vincent?"

The vixen crossed her arms over her chest. Doing her best to conceal herself as her robe slid open, she looked out a window. Typically, a calm night such as this would provide comfort. On this occasion, however, it had no effect.

"Sorry? You really think that one miserly little word is going to suddenly make all of this disappear?"

As Vincent spoke, he motioned to his wife's figure.

"Just look at yourself. It's absolutely disgusting."

Anne shuttered at his comment. After all the years of comments and praise coming from her husband, such a demeaning statement to her body cut deep.

"The last thing any tod wants to find is his wife lying under another fox."

The blistering anger had faded from his tone, but still clung to the last few words he spoke.

"To be honest, it really wasn't a surprise to me."

She turned her head from the window, a look of disbelief spreading across her muzzle. Ears falling flat and posture dropping, Anne found no energy to mutter a sound.

"You may think I didn't notice last week when we were making love; how you moaned our neighbor's name. That's when my suspicions began to grow."

Anne raised a hand to stop her husband, but was met with a growl as Vincent's lip curled up. His pearly white fangs showed themselves and caused her to shrink back in fear.

"I don't want to hear a fucking _sound_ out of you until I'm finished, or you go sailing through the front door. Am I understood?"

She gave a small nod, remaining in a hunched position of fear. With the anger returning to his tone tenfold, Vincent's clenched paws trembled with rage.

"As if that wasn't bad enough, you didn't seem to put any sort of effort into covering your tracks. Would it really have been too difficult to vacuum our bed?"

Anne continued to only stare back into the cold eyes of her husband. Her gaze was unblinking; her mind completely lost in a tempest of misery. Since there was nothing she could think of saying, she considered it best to only take blows and not give them back.

"It was quite obvious when I found red hairs in the bed."

Vincent turned from his wife to face out the window behind his desk. Typically on a night like this, he would be out for a walk with his wife. It was always a pleasure to stroll the quiet streets of their subdivision. But tonight, he saw the future beginning to crumble in his grasp.

"The night I found them was painful…"

"If you knew, why didn't you confront me earlier?"

Vincent turned back to his desk and opened a drawer. He grabbed a piece of paper from on top without having to do any shuffling. Finally making eye contact with Anne again, she could see something new in his eyes. The deep comfort and compassion she used to find in his gaze had long since fled. It had been replaced with… emptiness.

"I was waiting to finalize this."

She took the document from his hand, immediately focusing at the top of the paper.

"You're… you're filing for divorce?"

Vincent nodded.

"How… how could you?"

Raising a brow, her husband cocked his head slightly and put his arms behind his back. After a split second, his complexation slowly morphed into more anger.

"How could _I_? I want you to just take a moment and rethink what you just asked me. How. Could. _I_? Suddenly I'm supposed being made out as the villain in this situation?"

Anne could no longer hold back her tears as they began to stream down her cheeks. Her body soon began to give way even further as she trembled.

"I… I thought.. y-y-you _loved_ me…"

"I did. I did love you, but not anymore."

Anne continued to feel her limbs go numb.

"When the vixen I loved for so many years decided to go behind my back just for some cheap kicks, my feelings died. There was no pain, or a possibility that they were just badly injured. They simply vanished without any sort of sign."

Vincent paused and let out a long sigh. It was not one of regret for his decision, but one of wanting to get the whole ordeal over with.

"I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with you. We were supposed to raise our son and watch him grow up. But now, there's no way I can stand having him be raised by such an untrustworthy and double-crossing mother figure. I would much rather have him grow up without a mother than one that cannot be trusted."

Anne collapsed to the floor on her knees, letting the papers slip from her grasp. They floated around in the air before coming to a scattered rest across the hardwood floor.

"It really doesn't have to be this way! We can fix this… I promise…"

Vincent snickered and cast her a glance of bewilderment.

"Fix this? You really think we can fix _this_? We can't. And you promise? We already made a promise. It was on our wedding day, and you broke it. I see no reason why I should give you another chance when you have completely obliterated my trust. Just look at you."

With the last word, he motioned a paw to her robe. In the wake of her breakdown, Anne had let it fall open and expose herself.

"There is nothing that can _ever_ be done to mend this situation."

Vincent walked from behind his desk with paws still crossed behind his back. Instead of reaching out to console his soon to be ex-wife, he simply loomed over her and stood in unnerving silence.

"I want you out of the house in the morning. Go stay with your sister or someone; I really don't care. You just can't stay here any longer. Consider yourself lucky that I'm letting you sleep in the guest bedroom tonight."

Anne continued to kneel in awkward silence as she regathered her thoughts.

"What… what am I going to say to Nathan?"

"Well I know exactly what I'm going to say to him. Maybe you should have thought about what _you_ are going to say while you were getting plowed by the neighbor."

Vincent turned from her and returned behind his desk.

"Now if you will excuse me, I need to continue some work."

Without another word to say, Anne slowly stood up. She wrapped the robe tightly around herself and trudged to the door.

"Consider this, Annabelle. Divorce is a nasty process. Since we do not have a separation agreement in this state, we will have to go through a court separation. Not to mention the nightmare of dealing with child custody. Just keep in mind that I won't be asking you to payany sort of alimony. I am more than able to support Nathan on my own, but that is where my kindness ends for you. I may be able to pay for my lawyer fees no problem, but it may be a problem with you."

Tilting his head back down to a stack of papers, Vincent gave a silent final goodbye. Anne took notice, and without any resistance, opened the office door and stepped out.

Standing in the foyer of the house, she could find no strength to continue on. For a few moments, she stood silently facing a wall. Hanging upon the beige sheetrock was a family portrait. Anne still remembered the Christmas that Vincent had given it to her. At that moment in time, she was slightly upset that it wasn't a piece of jewelry.

However, looking back on it now, she realized that Vincent had given it to her as a reminder that he deeply loved his family. All of the grueling hours he spent working to support Nathan and his wife could be seen in his eyes. The photographer had managed to capture the dull steel blue of his eyes and all the emotions they held within. Swirling around his milky irises, Anne could see the toll that it had taken on him. Yet at the same time, she could see all the pride and happiness he knew was damn well worth it.

And what had Anne done? She went and took advantage of his kindness. While he spent his days slaving away in his office, she was out giving in to her desires. Everything Vincent had done to keep her happy, and she destroyed it all in a matter of seconds. His horrified face of finding her under their neighbor was burned into the back of her mind. No matter how much she may try, that image would never leave. It would fade with time, but never fully disappear.

Finally breaking her gaze with the portrait, Anne continued down the foyer towards the rear of the house. As she stepped through the living room, the moonlight cast an eerie glow across the floor. Opening the door to the backyard, she slipped out in the night. Usually finding comfort and serenity, any such feeling was absent. She sat down in a nearby chair and looked out over the lawn. Tomorrow was a Wednesday. That meant she needed to cut the grass while Vincent was at work. Well, at least that would have been the plan. Now, tomorrow was going to greet her with a search for a job to pay off her lawyer and court fees.

"I'm sorry, Vincent…"

Anne suddenly lost control and began sobbing into her paws. Her mind raced with moments of the past. There was a vision of her wedding, the day Nathan was born, the moment he said his first words, this morning when their neighbor crawled on top of her…

Regret…

There was nothing now but regret…

That one decision made for only momentary pleasure. Looking back on all of it now, she realized her actions had not been worth any of it. She had traded a loving husband and a perfect family for a feeling of sexual thrill. Living a pleasurable life was now thrown out the window.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!"

Anne continued to let out her inner sorrows as painful howls rang out into the night. Her body shook as the screams echoed inside of her. Finally lifting her head up, she gazed up at the stars. Now that she was moving from the suburbs, this would be the last night she would be blessed with such a heavenly view. Anne ran a paw over her face, doing her best to regain her composure. The fur of her face had become soaked with her tears over the short course of her outburst. Running down her neck, she still wound more wet fur. She had been crying more than she originally thought. Lifting her paw to examine it, she could barely mutter a few squeaks.

Red…

Anne frantically wiped at her neck once more. She was met the site of more blood. Feeling the warm fluid beginning to run down her upper torso, Anne began to see spots in the corners of her eyes. Any attempt to move was met with only a twitch. Her vision beginning to fade into blackness, Anne slouched forward and out of her chair. She landed on the flagstone patio, her body sprawling out. Looming overhead, a shady figure knelled down. It lifted a bloody knife up to its face, inhaling deeply. It let out a wheezy laugh of satisfaction.

Anne attempted to speak, but only managed to sputter as she coughed up blood. Feeling the cold grasp of death, the last thing she saw was an image of her husband. After all the pain she had caused, the chance would never come where she could attempt to heal the wound.

"Seriously, Nick? Not even one small hint?"

Nick gave her a smile, locking his lips with an invisible key. Given any opportunity, he always found a way to toy with Judy. It was more than anything to irritate her than give him any sort of pleasure.

"As I said on the drive home, my lips are sealed."

Nick walked back into the bathroom with Judy close behind. He stood in front of the mirror and picked up a comb from the countertop. Admiring his looks in the reflection, Judy stood at his side and continued to pester.

"You know something? You really are one cruel mammal."

Nick chuckled as he a pulled a knot from the fur of his neck. He removed the tuft of hair from the comb's teeth and flicked it into the nearby garbage can.

"Well let's get something clear, Carrots. There's one huge difference between fooling around with someone and then being cruel. I would hardly call my actions cruel. And besides, I wouldn't be doing it if you didn't make it so easy for me. It's called taking advantage of a situation, sweetheart."

Nick bent down and placed a kiss on top of Judy's head. He walked out the bedroom and headed towards their closet. Judy followed on his heels.

"I make it easy for you? Just how do I make this _easy_ for you?"

Nick pulled a forest green collared shirt from a hanger and slipped one arm in. He walked back towards the bathroom as he put the other arm in. Judy continue to stay close behind in her attempt to receive an answer.

"You hear that tone in your voice? That _tiny_ hint of aggravation? That's what makes all of this so easy. I just get a little pleasure out of doing it."

As he stood in front of the mirror buttoning the shirt, Judy tapped her foot on the tile floor.

"You get pleasure out of that" Judy asked with a laugh.

Nick was caught off guard as he felt a small paw grab his waist and twist him around. Looking down, he was met with Judy pressed up against him. She was staring directly into his eyes, a look of desire burning behind the violet of gaze. He let out a soft moan as she ran a paw over the exposed fur of his chest.

"If you get pleasure out teasing such a poor, innocent little bunny, then this is going to drive you absolutely mad."

Judy slowly began undoing the buttons of his shirt. He had only made it halfway, thus allowing Judy to quicken the process. Undoing the last button, she opened the shirt and fully exposed Nick's torso. She ran a paw over his stomach, causing Nick to let out yet another moan.

"Does that feel good my fox?"

Nick didn't speak a word and simply nodded his head. His breathing quickened and Judy could hear him suck in each breath with uncontrollable pleasure.

"That's what I thought."

Judy continued to rub his stomach. Each gentle pass caused him to tense up. Slowly beginning to move higher up on his torso, she used her free paw to grab between his legs. This caused him to let out a yip of surprise.

"Is that something you like?"

Nick once again remained silent and only responded with a nod. Judy rubbed her paw over the outline of his member. Within a matter of seconds, she felt it beginning to grow in her grasp. With her other paw, Judy grabbed at his chest. It had become a recent desire of hers to feel his increasing build. She had originally forced him to start using the ZPD employee's gym, but now he went under his own freewill. Although she was completely unaware of it, Nick could tell that his physique got her off. Perhaps now was the time to toy with that desire.

He took a paw and placed it in the small of her back. Pressing her form against him, Nick used his free paw to grope on her breasts. While doing this, he leaned his head down and locked lips with her. With their mouths connected, Judy's moans of pleasure were silenced. Nick continued to feel her as she did the same. Pulling them apart, he looked down while catching his breath.

"You know… one of us has is going to give in to our desires. And let me tell you something, I am certainly in the mood to be on the receiving end."

Judy bit her lower lip as Nick traced a finger down her stomach and between her thighs. She squirmed in his grasp, barely able to control her lust.

"It looks like someone is starting to fall into her spring-time behavior."

Judy stayed silent, letting Nick continue to trace around between her legs.

"I'll tell you what, Carrots. How about we make a deal? If you go ahead and pleasure me, I'll return the favor twice. That's means you'll get your fill in return, and a little something extra."

He paused, letting her contemplate his proposal. After a few moments of thinking, she looked back up and gave him a pleading look.

"Do you really have to go first?"

"That's why I said you would get more in return. To me, it's worth going first, even if you have to give more than you receive."

Judy gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"It's a deal."

Getting down on her knees, Judy teased as she ran a paw down Nick's torso. He let out another moan, and his body shook under her touch. Finally reaching the waistband of his pants, she made sure to take her time undoing the belt. With a clank, she moved the buckled off to the side.

"Looks like someone is already getting excited."

Nick's hard dick had become outlined in the fabric of his pants. As Judy stroked it, she felt it throb at the unexpected contact. She turned her attention back to his pants and slowly undid the button. Once again making sure to take her time in teasing, she languidly pulled the zipper down.

"Come on, Carrots. This is just cruel. I said I was giving you more in return. The least you can do is not tease."

Judy smiled, slowly pulling his pants down until they sat puddled around his ankles. He now stood wearing only an open shirt and a tight pair of athletic boxers. She cast him a questioning glance. He took notice of her silent questioning and rolled his eyes.

"What? As I've said before. If I don't wear something tight like that, my boner would be a hell of a lot more noticeable than it already is. Not to mention the beaver in the officer next to ours seems to imagine my naked every time we meet. She's the last person I want seeing me with a raging hard-on."

Judy laughed and grabbed his hard member through the thin fabric. Nick emitted a low growl as the sensation of her touch spread to every end of his body. She grabbed the tight hem of the boxers and slowly peeled them down. Inch by inch, she was met with the sight of his wide shaft. Upon finally freeing the tip from its elastic prison, his member bounced up and slapped against his stomach. No matter how many times she saw it, the sheer size always caused her stomach to churn in excitement.

"Just remember that there's no bunny you could every date that would come close to me."

Nick seemed to read her mind as Judy slowly took his shaft in her palm. The warmth radiating from it finally caused Judy to cave into her desires. Even if she wanted her fox to be inside her, this was a close second. After she pleasured her fox, she would be his for the taking.

She took the tip in her mouth and slowly wrapped her tongue over it. Tasting the salty precum already seeping from the tip, Judy knew that a massive flood was soon to come. Nick had been holding back a lot, and she was about to open the floodgates. Nick let out a moan of pleasure. With each pass of her tongue, she felt his dick throb. While she used one paw to hold it steady in her mouth, she used the other to rub his stomach. It had been a recent discovery that Nick found great pleasure in being rubbed while Judy satisfied him. Each rub caused both Nick's body and cock to quiver.

"That's it, Carrots… Just keep going…"

As Judy began to slowly take more and more of Nick's length into her mouth, she felt him place a paw on the back of her head. After she pressed her lips to the base of his cock, he pulled her back. Once she was left with only three inches left in her mouth, Nick pushed her head forward and back down his length. He had never used her in such a way, but she honestly found no problem with it. Whatever he wanted to do to get off, she was more than happy to oblige.

"Oohhh… keep going Carrots… You're doing a great job…"

Slowly, he built up speed. While Nick used her head for his pleasure, she continued to stroke his shaft. More precum leaked from him with each swift motion. Originally despising the taste, Judy had grown to like it. She rubbed his stomach again, and felt him begin to gyrate his hips. The movements had started out slow, but now escalated to a quick pace.

"Keep it up… I'm almost there…"

Taking notice of his approaching climax, Judy removed her paw from his stomach and placed it under his balls. After many different occasions, she had worked out the perfect way to bring her fox over the edge. Nick completely lost it when she played his nuts. As she juggled them around in her palm, Nick moaned loudly and quickened his pace. Judy continued to fondle his balls while Nick's thrusting grew to an almost violent rate.

"That's it, Judy… I'm gonna cum…"

With one final and powerful thrust, Nick pressed his cock fully into Judy's mouth. He let out a howl as Judy felt his warm seed shoot into the back of her throat. One after another, she felt his shaft pulsate as it worked out another load. As she felt the loads decreasing in size, Judy could feel Nick's thrusts slow down. With one final cumshot, he pressed the back of her head hard. He let out a deep moan before both his paws fell to his sides. Slowly, he leaned back against the vanity and slid down. Judy let his cock fall out of her mouth as he plopped down on the floor. Swallowing the remainder of his seed, Judy watched as his breathing began to slow down and normalize.

"I assume that my fox is satisfied?"

Without giving a verbal response, Nick grabbed her wrist and pulled Judy onto his chest. With her head resting against him, she could hear his heartbeat. Although still fast, it was slowly dropping back down to a normal pace.

"That… was… wonderful…"

Judy nuzzled into his neck and took a deep whiff of the musk emitting from him.

"Oh shit…"

Judy quickly lifted her head in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"We were supposed to leave 5 minutes ago."

Scrambling to pull his pants back up, Nick quickly stood and left the bathroom. After zipping his pants, he hastily began to rebutton his shirt, not realizing that it was misaligned.

"But what about my end of the deal" Judy asked as she smoothed out her dress.

"We'll have to get back to that when we return from dinner. I know you're about to tear me a new one, so let's just say I owe you triple. Does that sound good?"

Judy gave a nod, a smile of victory spreading across her muzzle. Even if it meant waiting, she knew Nick would do more than good on keeping his promise.

* * *

"Alright, here we are."

Judy stared out the window of Nick's Jeep. He had pulled up in front of a row of brick homes, with another one sandwiched against both sides. The street was one continuous row of homes. Some were in better condition than its neighbors, but the worse ones were still not considered an eyesore. Although this was not the nicest neighborhood Judy had ever been too, it certainly was better than many of the ones they patrolled.

"I don't see a restaurant, Nick."

He ignored her statement and opened her door. Extending his paw, he took her paw in his and helped her down.

"I never said we were going to a restaurant. All I said was that we were going out."

"That typically means that you're going out to a restaurant. I hope you realize that."

Judy continued to give him a questioning stare, to which he responded with no reply. She followed him up the stairs.

"Just trust me, Carrots. The surprise is going to be worth it."

 _Surprise?_

Judy immediately cringed at the use of the word. Any sort of surprise that Nick planned typically ended up not going over well. How was it going to end tonight? Maybe there was going to be a trip to the emergency room, or a new hole in a wall roughly the size of his head. Whatever he had planned, Judy prayed it was going to wind up being okay in the end.

"Who is it?"

Judy had been completely lost in her thoughts to notice Nick had knocked on the door. There was now a voice calling from the other side. It was muffled by the thick oak door, making it almost impossible for Judy to understand what the voice said.

"It's me!"

The door opened a crack, quickly being stopped by the sound of chain being pulled taught. The crack allowed just a sliver of light to escape from inside. Judy was barely able to make out a shape through the small crack. It was small, suggesting to Judy that whoever it was kept the door chained for a reason.

"Nicky? I was wondering what happened to you. You know you're almost fifteen minutes late. It's not polite to keep your mother waiting like that."

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	4. Peel the Paint

**Chapter 4: Peel the Paint**

"Your, _mother_?", Judy hissed as she cast Nick a glance. While his mother unhooked the chain, Judy continued to give her fox an icy glare.

"What? Am I not allowed to have a little fun?" Nick kept his voice low, making sure to avoid his mother overhearing. He had donned his conman smirk.

Judy knew to never let Nick see that he got under her skin. Keeping her composure, she instead let out an aggravated puff of air.

"There is a fine line between having fun and then making me almost faint from nervousness. You have blown clear across that line, Mr. Wilde."

They broke their gaze as the chain clunk and fell against the door. It swung up, revealing a vixen standing before them. She stood shorter than Nick, but still had a considerable height advantage over Judy. Although some areas of her fur had grayed with time, she still managed to give off a lively attitude. She shot them both a huge smile and opened her arms.

"Hey mom!" Nick hurried forward and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the embrace, and Judy noticed her emerald eyes glowing with excitement.

 _So that's where Nick got his eyes._

"You sure have gotten stronger! Just don't squeeze too hard; I'm not getting any younger", she spoke with a gentle and caring tone.

Nick let his mother go and placed a paw on her shoulder. He stood beside her, turning to face Judy.

"Mom, there's someone I would like you to meet. This is my girlfriend, Judy Hopps."

Judy extended her paw for Nick's mother to take, but was instead engulfed into a hug. Even at her old age, she was able to come close to squeezing the life out of Judy. After they parted, she studied Judy.

"So this is the young rabbit you've been telling me about? I must say Nicholas, I never thought you would ever find someone that could keep you in line as well as I can. As he been any sort of problem for you my dear?"

"Really, mom? You honestly think I would give her any trouble.?"

Mrs. Wilde turned around, giving her son a questioning stare. This soon gave way to her laughing and slapping a paw on her knee.

"Well considering how many times I almost beat your ass as a kit, it's not a strange question to ask."

 _I also guess that's where he got his potty mouth…_

"Anyway, it's very nice to meet you, Judy. I'm glad that my Nicky seems to have finally found someone to keep him happy and out of trouble."

Judy blushed, the insides of her ears turning a light shade of pink.

"Well he's keeping me just as happy as I'm keeping him, if not more. You certainly know how to raise the perfect fox."

"If by raise you mean 'tanning my hide at the smallest incident', then yes. She knew how to raise me _perfectly_."

Mrs. Wilde turned to her son again and lifted her paw up. She grabbed hold of his ear and pulled him down to her level. Even as tough as Nick tried to appear, he still winced in fear at any sort of verbal or physical punishment from his mother.

"What did I tell you about sarcasm?"

With the last word, she gave his ear a small tug. Nick held back a whimper as he stood and took his verbal assault.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!"

She let go of Nick, causing him to spring back up and rub the sore base of his ear.

"I better not hear another such comment out of you tonight. If I do, your girlfriend will have to take you home in a wheelchair."

She turned back to Judy and gave her a smile. It struck Judy just how well Mrs. Wilde managed to completely turn her attitude around 180 degrees in a split second.

"Now let's get inside. I think our dinner is just about done."

Mrs. Wilde turned inside and motioned a paw for both of them to follow suit. Judy walked inside and shut the door behind her, making sure to lock it and put the chain back in place.

"So what do you think, Carrots?"

Judy turned to her fox, not giving off any sort of emotion.

"Well, she's a character. I'll tell you that much. I do like her, though."

Nick placed an arm over her shoulder and guided her down the foyer. As they walked, Judy's heard turned from side to side as she inspected the multiple pictures on the wall. One she recognized as Nick's sister. To think that their whole relationship had begun as a misunderstanding. As she passed the portrait, Judy said a quick prayer that wherever Nick's sister was now, she was happy.

"She may come off as harsh, but never believe half the things she says. Take it from me; she's all talk and no show. Well, at least ninety percent of the time."

"That still means that one of ten times, she actually did give you quite a beating."

Nick's tail wrapped around her waist and pulled her in further.

"You just have to take everything so literally, don't you?"

They continued behind Mrs. Wilde, following her into the dining room.

"You two can take a seat. I need to go pull our meal from the oven."

She disappeared around the corner, the smell of cooking food wafting into the dining room. Nick and Judy took a seat. He looked at over at his bunny to find her drumming her fingers on the table. She refused to speak a word. All she did was sit and stare. With his mother temporary out of sight and ear-range, Judy was free to express her concern.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say something's bothering you."

Judy cocked her head to the side. She gave him a look of ' _gee, you really fucking think so?_ '

"Let me see… what have I done wrong?

Nick gazed up the ceiling and pretended to be dwelling deep in thought. He rubbed a paw under his chin, making a 'hhmmm' sound.

"Damn it, Nick. I'm serious."

He chuckled and turned back to face his girlfriend. Outstretching an arm, he grabbed hold of her paw and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Alright, fine. You win. Go ahead and tell me what I did."

Judy let out a sigh.

"You really had to keep it a secret that _this_ is where you taking us? I mean honestly, Nick. Why on Earth did you feel the need to keep me meeting your mother a surprise?"

Nick squeezed her paw tighter. He rested his head against his arm and gazed into her eyes.

"Tell me one thing, Carrots. What is the most common thing you do before something important?"

Judy sat in silence, unsure of how to answer the question. Nick did not let the awkward silence hang in the air for long.

"You overthink it."

Looking for any sort of response, Judy found nothing to muster up. Her paw remained raised in front of her open mouth, not a single sound escaping.

"You know I'm right. If I had told you where we were going before we left, it would have been a nightmare. Knowing you, it probably would have meant an hour of picking out the perfect outfit and then being completely unsatisfied with your choice in the end. Not to mention at least an hour and a half grooming yourself to perfection in the mirror."

No matter what ideas came to her mind, Judy realized she had absolutely no counterargument. That's what bothered her the most about the whole ordeal; having to admit that Nick was actually right.

"Now that we've settled everything, try and enjoy yourself. I kept this a surprise because I didn't want you to spend the entire night worked up."

Judy breathed deeply and squeezed her fox's paw tighter.

"Alright, dinner's hot!"

They both watched as Mrs. Wilde turned a corner into the dining room. Between her gloved hands, she held a smoking porcelain tray. The aroma of melted cheese, basil, and tomatoes filled the room.

"Come on, mom! You really didn't have to go all out for us. I know it takes you at least three hours just to do the prepping for lasagna."

She leaned down and pinched Nick's cheek.

"Nonsense, Nicky. It's not every day my little boy brings home a special girl. It would be rude of me to not prepare my best meal."

After releasing Nick from her grasp, he rubbed his sore cheek.

"Can you not call me your little boy? It's kind of weird."

"It's suddenly a crime for a mother to tease her son? What is my big, brave police officer going to do? Arrest his own mother?"

Nick rolled his eyes, unable to stop a smile from tugging at the corner of his lips.

"It smells great, Mrs. Wilde! You really didn't have to go through all this trouble just for us."

Mrs. Wilde cut into the lasagna and served a slice onto a china plate. Passing it to Judy, she flipped a paw in the air and shook her head.

"Nonsense, dear. I have nothing else to do all day. Might as well do something I enjoy. And please, call me Melanie. Being called Mrs. Wilde makes me feel old."

"That's because you are old."

"Just because you are a grown-ass tod does mean I can't still smack you upside the head."

Nick played it off, letting out a laugh as Melanie served him a plate. After all were served, she took her seat at the head of the table with Nick and Judy at each side. They all dug into their meal with excitement. After the initial hunger pains had been subdued, Melanie put her fork down and turned to Judy.

"So Judy, tell me about yourself."

Judy stopped her fork inches from her mouth, setting it back down on her plate. Perhaps she needed to take a break from devouring her meal since almost half of it was already gone.

"Well as Nick probably told you already, I am a police officer. I also trust he told you that I was the one who asked him to join the force?"

Melanie rolled her eyes and gave her son a small grin.

"Yes he did. In fact, it's one of the few times Nicky has been honest to me. Usually he'll tell me the truth only after he's been caught lying."

Nick put his head into his paws and let out a small moan.

"This really isn't how I pictured the evening going…"

Judy leaned over the table and joking punched his shoulder after he took a sip from her wine glass.

"Oh come on, Nick. We're just having a little fun!"

"Yeah, at _my_ expense."

Melanie swallowed the bite she had taken.

"Lighten up, Nicky. You'll never have any fun if you don't learn to laugh at yourself."

Nick let out a fake cry and squeezed his temples.

"Oh God… why _me_?"

Melanie rolled her eyes and turned her attention away from Nick and back to Judy. After taking another sip of wine from her glass, she continued the conversation.

"Going back to where we were, what exactly made you want to become a police officer? I remember Nicky telling me you were the first bunny cop. I'm interested what put that idea in your head."

Judy swallowed the bite in her mouth.

"Well, ever since I was young, I always felt like I was… 'the lil guy'. There was this voice in the back of my head telling me I had to be the one to give a voice to the weaker mammals of society. So I made it my goal in life to become a police officer. Of course I was told many times that there hadn't been a bunny cop, and that there never would be. But look at me now! Sometimes you have to learn to ignore all the bitterness from others. I quickly learned early on that there's a fine line between constructive criticism and then just being mean for no reason. You have to learn to just ignore that."

Taking a pause, she turned to Nick. He had been listening to the conversation the entire time, studying his mother and girlfriend.

"And recently I learned something else. Never let them see that they get to you."

Nick smiled and gave Judy a wink. Hidden from view, his tail began to lightly wag in delight. Melanie sat straight up again and finished off the last bite of her meal.

"Well I must say that I am thoroughly impressed. Not only have you kept that attitude throughout your life, but you seem to have passed it on to my Nicky."

Turning to her son. Melanie placed a paw on her wrist. Catching Nick off guard, he only had time to stare in surprise as she began to talk.

"I never thought that he would turn his life around. Of course I never really approved of the hustles he pulled, but it was how he made a living. Now that you came into his life, Judy, he really has become the ideal citizen for many other foxes out there. Hopefully he can show them that species is not a limitation on what you can become."

Having to hold a tear in the corner of his eye, Nick leaned over the table and embraced his mother in a hug. She returned the action, and buried her teary face into his neck. They remained frozen in their embrace, letting all the emotions flood out. Judy remained in her seat and watched as mother and son cherished the moment, never wanting to break apart.

"Thanks for helping me, Nick. I'm not used to washing dishes for more than one person."

Melanie rinsed off a plate and began to wipe it with a nearby towel. Nick stood by her side, his sleeves rolled up and arms deep in the sink.

"It really is no problem. After all, I need to repay you somehow for cooking dinner. It really was great."

She nodded a silent reply and went back to drying the towel. As she hummed an unfamiliar tune, Nick stopped and let go of his sponge. It rose to the surface and gently bobbed in the soapy liquid.

"Thank you, mom. Thank you so much for everything."

"Oh Nicky, it really wasn't a big deal. You know how much I enjoy cooking."

Nick sighed and kept his head down.

"It's more than just that. I mean thanks for what you've done for me tonight. You really made Judy feel welcome. Right now, that just means the world to me that you accepted her. I know she's not another fox, and it makes me so damn happy that you didn't let that get to you."

Melanie set the plate down in a dry rack and turned to face Nick.

"Well it's not exactly the first thing a mother wants to hear. The first thing I had wanted to hear about my son's girlfriend wasn't exactly that she wasn't a fox. Not to mention that she's not even a predator. But you know what, I quickly got over it. As long as she makes my Nicky happy, I don't care what she is. Your happiness is what's important to me."

Nick turned without notice and wrapped his arms around his mother. Although the fur of his arms was still dripping with soapy water, Melanie ignored it and didn't move away.

"That's all I ever wanted to hear…"

Nick's voice now seemed more soothing than Melanie had ever heard it.

"You really do love her, don't you?"

Taken aback by her question, Nick removed his head from atop hers. He stared deep into her eyes, his composure lacking no sense of full seriousness.

"I do."

Given his simple yet firm answer, Melanie reached up and stroked her son's face. No matter how much he aged, she still saw him as her little boy. Nothing would ever be able to change that.

"Then I guess it's finally time for me to give you this."

Reaching down, she pulled the wedding ring from her paw. With a shaky hand, she held it in front of Nick. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. This time, they were a mixture of both sadness and joy.

"I've continued to wear those since the day your father died. I did so in hopes that one day, I would be able to give them to you. To be honest, I had begun to wonder if I would ever live to see that day. But now, the moment has finally arrived."

She gently placed the ring into her son's palm, closing his fingers over it with her shaking paw.

"M-mom… are you sure about this? After all, it's your most important reminder of dad."

Melanie closed his fingers tighter and nodded her head.

"It's nothing more than a physical object that represented his love for me. Now, it's time that my ring represented your love for Judy. I want you to give it to her. Nothing would make me happier than passing my wedding ring down to my son."

She outstretched her paw and placed it under his chin. Tilting his head up so Nick could meet her gaze, Melanie gave him a smile. He returned it, and once again embraced his mother.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you, Nicky."

While mother and son remained embraced in the kitchen, Judy sat at the dining room table. The entire time, one thought ran through her head.

' _How long could it possibly take to wash three dishes?'_

* * *

Finnick walked out the paint booth with Roger following in close pursuit. They set their paint guns down on a nearby table. Finnick peeled off his paint mask and took off the hood of his paint suit. His ears finally freed, they sprang back up. The fenneck shook his head violently, doing his best to straighten his oversized ears out of their bent shape.

"Go ahead and set the temperature to 72 degrees and the humidity to 40 percent. The basecoat needs to set for about 30 minutes before we can apply the clearcoat. I'll set a timer on my phone."

Roger followed Finnick's instructions and input the command into a nearby keypad. After a beep of confirmation, the hyena locked the doors to the paint booth.

"I gotta hand to you, Finnick, you've had some really good ideas. I never knew tinting the primer the same color as the basecoat adds depth to the color. How did you learn all this?"

The fennec unzipped his paint suit part way. The shop may have been air-conditioned, but it was not nearly enough to combat the thick suits required to be worn during painting.

"Well I can tell you this much. I sure as hell didn't pay for any class. Most of my knowledge came from years of experience. When I was maybe 17 I started helping a friend with body work on the side. He taught me his techniques and gave me pointers. I parted ways with him years ago, but still remember everything he taught me."

Roger walked back from the paint booth doors, nodding his head at his co-worker's story.

"And my god did it pay off. We haven't had someone with this much talent employed here. Hell, you seem to know more tricks and tips than Mr. Rawlings. Just don't tell him I said that. If there's one thing he truly hates, it's being bested."

"Your secret's safe with me."

Finnick set the timer on his phone. Slipping it back into his pocket, the duo continued across the shop floor and back to their work station. Their fellow co-workers were all at work on their various projects. Some were doing body work as well, while others were performing routine maintenance.

"So what do you want to do for half an hour" Roger asked as he ruffled his matted fur. The two of them walked back into their designated section of the shop. Finnick looked over to the white board hanging above their work table.

"Did you replace the differential fluid?"

"Yup. I did that while you flushed the radiator."

Finnick stroked his chin while crossing both items off of their to-do list.

"I think that's everything. After we apply the clearcoat, it should be ready to leave the shop tomorrow afternoon. Giving it 24 hours to dry should be plenty enough time."

Feeling a sense of accomplishment brewing inside, Finnick did his best to keep his tail from wagging. It had been a long time since he had completed a job the honest way without any shortcuts. Although initially a major change of habit for the small fox, the initial awkwardness of changing his ways had long since faded. Performing a task honestly actually felt good.

"Here ya go."

During his thinking, Finnick hadn't noticed that Roger left. Apparently he had gone to the breakroom to retrieve two beers from the fridge.

"The boss allows you to drink on the job? Isn't that… I don't know, against the law?"

The hyena popped the tab on his can and took a sip. He nodded off Finnick's question with a smile.

"Only certain jobs make it illegal. Although, being drunk on the job can lead to lawsuits for negligence if you do something wrong. That's why Mr. Rawlings only lets us have one."

Roger bent down and motioned for Finnick to come closer.

"Just between the two of us, he's been plastered in his office on more than one occasion. Every time it was because a build either went over on time, over on budget, or sometimes both. I have a feeling that since you've been giving such excellent advice, another event like that should never happen again."

He took another sip and let out satisfied laugh.

"Which is kind of shame. It was sort of fun seeing him stumble out of his office and faceplant into a container of used motor oil."

Holding out the other can in front of the fennec, Roger swung it front of his eyes in temptation. Finnick simply put up a paw in protest.

"You know what, I'm good. I made a promise to myself to keep on a straight path. Even if the boss allows it, I still think it's wrong."

After a few seconds of initial shock, the hyena shrugged his shoulders in acceptance of Finnick's decision. He stood straight once more and turned to the lift next to theirs.

"Hey Aaron! You want this?"

The bearded goat at the neighboring station nodded quickly with delight.

"Catch!"

Roger tossed the can through the air, causing the goat to run in an attempt to catch it. The can landed a few feet in front of him, slamming into the concrete and bursting open. The white foam coated the floor and any nearby equipment.

"Damn it, Roger! You know I can't catch with these hooves!"

"That sounds like a 'you' problem. You better clean that up before the boss sees it. He won't be happy to find a stain on the floor when he just had it pressure washed."

The goat mumbled something under his breath. Finnick was unable to make most of it out, but was able to hear something along the lines of "fucking pred." He decided it was best to ignore the statement and continue his break. Turning around, he walked to a flat tire and took a seat on the rim. Roger followed and sat down on the concrete floor with his back leaning against the tool cabinet.

"So, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

Finnick wanted to say no, but reminded himself that he needed to change his old habits.

 _No more hiding in your shell. You gotta learn to open up._

"Yeah sure. We got time to kill. What's on your mind?"

Roger took another sip of his beer.

"You said earlier that you made a promise to keep on a straight path. What exactly did you mean by that?"

Finnick's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected that sort of question to leave his co-worker's mouth.

"Um…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to put you in an awkaward spot. You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, no, it's fine. I need to learn how to open up to people. I can't keep seeking shelter from everything."

Finnick took a deep breath and straightened his posture.

"To answer your question, I decided that I needed to better my life. Before I got this job, I made a living off of hustles and scams. I'm not proud to admit it, but it's something I shouldn't hide from people."

He paused to make sure Roger had no questions. The hyena was sitting at full attention, his eyes locked on Finnick. There was no sign of judgement or disgust in his eyes. His face read of nothing but understanding and acceptance.

"So anyway, I used to make my living by taking advantage of other mammals. A friend and I used to work together to accomplish them. Our most common one involved me dressing up like a kit to take advantage of unsuspecting civilians."

"I guess that's the best thing you could do considering I mistook you for a kit when you first walked in here yesterday."

He let out a small laugh before quickly putting a paw over his mouth.

"Sorry, I imagine you don't like getting told you look like you're five years old."

Finnick laughed as well, his booming voice echoing around the high ceilings of the shop. Aaron looked over from the station next to them, taken aback by the chilling outburst.

"Don't be sorry! You know, I would have let that infuriate me a month ago. But now, I've learned to not let the little things get to me."

Roger smiled and finished off his beer.

"If I may ask, what happened to you friend? I mean, you obviously stopped doing those hustles for a reason."

"You may have actually heard about him on the news. His name is Nick Wilde. He became the first fox officer after helping solve the Night Howler case."

" _He_ was your friend?"

Finnick gave a silent nod.

"Well shit. Now I see why you wanted to go on a different path. It seems pretty obvious that he set an example for you."

Finnick felt a small smile growing across his muzzle. A tear started to form in the corner of his eye, but he managed to keep it from escaping.

"Yeah. I always have looked up to him. He's always been there for me. Life has always been difficult for me, but Nick always knew exactly what to do. He never let life beat him down."

Roger reached out and placed a paw on Finnick's shoulder. He gave it a small squeeze of assurance.

"Well let me tell you something. I can fully guarantee you that he is so fucking proud of you. If I were in his shoes, it would really warm my heart to someone turn their life around because of me."

The fennec wiped an eye with the back of his paw. Over the course of the conversation, his ears had gradually flattened against his back.

"Damn it, Roger. You really had to make me get emotional, didn't you?" Finnick let out a laugh, doing his best to conceal his inner emotions. He would eventually get to the point where his feelings were not a big deal to share with friends, but that moment was far away.

"My bad. I really didn't mean to do that." The hyena removed his paw from Finnick's shoulder. Letting his co-worker recompose himself, Roger sat in silence an simply watched.

They both turned their attention as a phone started to ring, Finnick got up from the tire and grabbed it.

"Looks like it's been half an hour. We can continue this another time. Let's suit up and get that clearcoat done. I'm tired and want to go home."

Roger crumpled his beer can and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

"Being tired will take some getting used to. You'll find that you're on your feet constantly."

Finnick tucked his ears back into his suit and lifted the hood over his head. As he slipped on his mask, he thought just how lucky he was to have Roger as a co-worker. The hyena walked up behind him and grabbed the paint gun Finnick had filled with clearcoat.

"I'll go ahead and turn on the vents."

"Alright."

As Roger left to unlock the paint booth, Finnick found his mind wonder back to his life just over a month. He would have never thought he would be earning an honest living. It may not have paid as much as some of the hustles, but money wasn't everything. The fennec may have given up the hustling the life, but gained a close friend in return.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	5. End of the Line

**Chapter 5: End of the Line**

Nick startled awake as his phone vibrated on the nightstand. After a momentary pause, he managed to focus his vision enough to make out the number. Even though his mind was still firing on one cylinder, he easily recognized the number as Chief Bogo. Nick rubbed one sleep-blurred eye with his paw and used the other to swipe 'answer'. He held the phone to his hear, unable to stop a violent yawn from rocking his body.

"Chief, it's five in the morning. There better be a good reason why you woke me up two hours early."

There was a muffled sound of Bogo holding back an outburst. No matter how much Nick managed to piss off the cape buffalo, there was never any sort of punishment. The chief realized that the aggravating fox was worth putting up. He and Judy worked great together, and nothing could ever be done to spoil that.

"I need you and Officer Hopps to report to a crime scene."

Nick flopped his head back onto a pillow, and let out a breath of aggravation. He starred at the ceiling, fearing the oncoming misery that would follow the chief's explanation.

"Let me guess. Another kidnapping?"

The other end went silent as Chief Bogo let out a long sigh. Nick sat back up, his face completely neutral. Anytime the chief hesitated, the answer always turned out to be something horrific.

"Yes, but…"

Nick leaned forward, letting his head sit propped in his paw. He gazed at the floor, completely lost in the possibilities of what else had occurred.

"But what chief?"

"There's also been a murder. I need both of you to come and have a look. You're my only officers with a case already assigned to you."

Nick sat on the edge of the bed in frozen silence. The kidnappings had been unpleasant enough, but no officer had expected the situations to escalate to such a level of severity.

"Do… do you really think it's the best idea for me to be there? No offense to your judgement chief, I wasn't able to hold myself together when the officer was shot in Bunny Burrow. Maybe I'm not the best mammal to be put on this case."

Nick was met with another pause. It was never easy for Chief Bogo to answer when confronted by his officers; much less so when one was right.

"Listen, Wilde. The only thing I can say is do your best to maintain self-control. If you feel the need to be sick, you'll just have to hold it in. I trust you and Officer Hopps the most when it comes to these kind of investigations. There's no other officers I would want to be put in charge of this investigation. Do I make myself clear?"

Nick went silent as he processed what Bogo had said. Never before had he heard the chief speak to his officers in such a way. Comments were one thing, but complete admittance of Nick and Judy's value to the force had been completely unexpected.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now I need the two of you to be here in an hour. I'll send you the address."

Without so much as another word, the other end went silent. Nick pressed 'end call' and set the phone back down on the nightstand. He soon found himself staring out the window of their bedroom into the sky. A few pink lines from the approaching sunset had managed to cross over the horizon. It was rare that Nick was awake early enough to watch the sun rise. This morning, however, it seemed to lack the usual calm Nick enjoyed.

Whatever was waiting for him at the crime scene lingered in the back of his mind. To think that the kidnappings had escalated to death only brought the fox displeasure. As he sat on the edge of his bed, Nick ran a paw over his ears and slicked them flat against the back of his head. No matter how much he wanted to stay home and curl up in bed with Judy, duty called. Deep inside, he knew any sort of discomfort needed to be pushed aside. Justice always came first.

"Mmaaamm…"

Nick turned to find Judy stirring in her sleep. As she mumbled uninterpretable slurs, her paw reached out to find Nick's place beside her empty. A look of worry donned on her face as she mumbled more.

"Nnnn… Nick…"

Nick quickly laid back down on his side of the bed and scooted up behind her. Taking hold of her searching paw, he gave it a gentle squeeze of comfort. He pulled her in close and pressed her smaller form into his chest. As Judy eased into his loving embrace, her mumbling stopped and gave way to soothed breathing.

"Sshhh… It's alright, Judy. I'm right here."

As if his words managed to pierce through her mind and into her dream, Judy smiled. While maintaining close contact with his girlfriend, Nick slowly reached behind him and picked up his cell phone. He set an alarm for ten minutes and placed it back down on the nightstand.

"An extra ten minutes won't hurt."

Nick wrapped an arm around his bunny, pulling her as close in as he could. He inhaled her light scent deeply, and let his eyes close. As he drifted back into sleep, Nick's mind whirled with the scent of his girlfriend.

As Nick followed his phone's navigation, he sat in silence. While his Jeep cruised down the road leading to the subdivisions surrounding Zootopia, he let his mind ease into a state of bliss. Although the destination at the end of his GPS was going to bring nothing but discomfort, Nick let himself enjoy the drive. It had been months since it was warm enough to pull the top off of his Jeep. Judy had not been the biggest fan of the vehicle when she and Nick firs started dated, but she easily warmed up to it. Eventually, it grew to the point that she was the one begging to go for a ride.

"Remind me again why Bogo thought it was necessary to wake us up two hours early?"

Nick looked over to see Judy rub her still sleepy eyes. She kept her head staring out at the passing forest. As the vehicle sped along, her ears flapped behind her.

"There was another kidnapping." Nick gripped the steering wheel tighter at the thought of another innocent kit being abducted. He never showed his rage, but the kidnappings had really rocked the fox to his core.

"Damn it. For a few weeks, it really seemed like the increased patrols had put a stop to all of this. I guess that means it's back to the drawing board to come up with another plan."

"That's the thing, Carrots. I'm starting to believe that maybe those patrols caused this to happen."

Judy turned to face Nick. As she took a sip of coffee from a cup, she gave him a puzzled glare. Reading her expression, Nick decided to clarify his statement before Judy got a chance to respond.

"Just bare with me for a second and think about it. We increased security around the kidnapper's typical abduction points. Now that their favorite target spots are no longer an option, what do they do? They go somewhere else, and not just somewhere random."

"But a subdivision? Why would they choose a gated community? Wouldn't any mammal with a lick of common sense equate security with not being a good idea?"

"Not necessarily, Carrots. If you were going to commit a crime, wouldn't you go somewhere no one expects? The last thing the ZPD expected was the next kidnapping to be in a gated neighborhood. If the worst incident that occurred in your neighborhood was an occasional house egging, would you constantly keep your guard on full watch? No, you wouldn't. The residents of that neighborhood most likely had their guard down because of where they lived. What's the point of fearing crime when you have guards to stop any unwanted guests?"

Judy ran a paw over her ears and slicked them against the back of her head. At this point, she had no idea how to respond. Her mind was still trying to process what other precautions they could take to prevent the next abduction. More importantly, however, she was wondering how the attacker managed to commit the crime in a guarded subdivision.

"How are the parents taking it? I remember the parents of the last one had a complete breakdown when we tried to question them. Up until that point, I had never seen so much pain in any mammal's eyes."

Nick gritted his teeth and held back a pained sigh. Before they had even left the apartment, he knew Judy would have to be told before they arrived at the crime scene.

"Well… the mother is dead…"

Judy's eyes went wide. Nearly dropping her coffee cup onto the floor mat, she found her mouth open, but unable to produce a sound.

"Dead?"

Nick gave a silent nod and kept his attention pointed forward. Judy emitted a distraught sigh as her mind processed the information. Up until this point, none of the other causes involved a murder.

"Carrots?"

Refusing to make eye contact with Nick, Judy simply muttered, "what?"

"I need you to look at me."

Judy refused. She was once again staring out into the passing woods. Whenever she refused to make eye contact with Nick, he knew that something was deeply bothering her. The news of the mother's death had scarred her deeply.

"Judy."

 _Damn it_

"Please look at me."

Judy turned, her face still twisted into a pained frown.

"I understand why you're upset. More than that, I completely agree with you right now. The main difference is that I'm not letting it upset my attitude. If we let our emotions gain control, it clouds our judgement and ability to perform our jobs."

Judy knew he was right. It irritated her how perfectly Nick was able to read her. No matter how much she wanted let him know, his words drifted around her mind. ' _Never let them see that they get to you.'_

"Can you promise me that you won't let your emotions affect our performance today?"

Turning to face her fox, Judy gave him a smile. No matter how many times she tried, it was impossible to fake a smile around Nick. Even in the darkest situations, he managed to coax a positive feeling from deep down inside her.

"I promise."

Nick grinned, and relished in his victory.

"Thank you."

As he shifted up into the next gear. Judy placed her paw on top of his. She gave it a gentle pat and took another sip of her coffee. They continued down the road until they reached their turn. Nick slowed the Jeep into the curve. As they pulled onto the stone road, Nick was taken aback by the entrance to the subdivision.

The entrance sat at the edge of a tree line. Before the road vanished into the woods, it passed in front of a guard station. An arm sat across the road, stopping any vehicle from continuing without admittance by the guard. Nick took notice of the security camera hanging from the edge of the roof.

"You see the camera, Nick?"

"Yeah I do, but the odds are that it won't shed any light on this case. I doubt that our culprit was stupid enough to come through the main entrance and get caught on film. Maybe he came through some rear entrance. We'll have to look into that."

As they pulled up to the guard building, Nick removed his badge from his pocket and held it out. The moose nodded, and walked inside to let them through. The arm lifted up and Nick continued into the woods.

As they drove along, a few homes began to come into view. From what Nick could make out as they passed by, all of them were still dark. Whether or not the tenants were still asleep or digesting the news of what had occurred down the street, Nick was unable to tell.

"I can see a few squad cars up ahead."

Judy pointed out the windshield at the approaching driveway. Two cruisers sat in the driveway, their lights off to avoid drawing attention. Nick pulled his Jeep into the driveway, and watched as Chief Bogo walked out the front door. With the vehicle coming to a halt, Nick killed the engine.

"Hopps, Wilde, thank you again for coming on such short notice."

Nick leaped down from the Jeep and shut his door with a heavy thud. As he walked around the front of the vehicle, Judy joined him at his side. The fresh dew in the morning grass felt refreshing against the pads of his feet. Although the calm morning brought some relaxation to the fox, he knew it was only temporary.

"It's no problem chief; just a little unpleasant missing out on two hours of sleep."

Bogo kept a straight face, his arms crossed behind his back. The rising sun cast his large shadow over both Nick and Judy.

"Just prepare yourself. Things are only going to get more unpleasant from here."

As Bogo led Nick and Judy around the side of the house towards the back yard, she stole a glance through a passing window. Two wolves, one white and one gray, stood at the kitchen counter packing items into briefcases. Each wore a navy blue jacket with 'forensics' embroidered into the back. Judy took notice that they both had their ears flattened down against the back of their heads. Whatever awaited her was enough to even shake two career forensic analysts. They each picked up their respective briefcase, and turned a corner to go deeper into the house. As they vanished out of sight, Judy's mind raced with the thoughts of what other horrors awaited them.

As Judy turned the corner into the backyard, her gaze immediately darted to a motionless object laying under a white sheet. Some sections of it have been stained crimson with blood. The patio surrounding the sheet had been covered in blood as well. In the corner of her eye, Judy saw Nick slightly cringe at the sight of it. Although she knew it was difficult for him to hold in his disgust, he was already doing better than the last time they had gone to a murder scene. Nick maintained his solid composure as they stopped in front of the sheet.

Bogo walked around to the other side of it, and stood with his hooves crossed behind his back. As he looked down at his officers, his eyes were no longer filled with any sort of emotion. This hinted to Judy that whatever lay beneath had sucked all feeling out of him prior to their arrival.

"I'm just going to give you a fair warning. Even in all my years of service on the force, this murder somehow managed to shake me worse than any other before. I have faith that both of you have the mental strength to handle this. Are you ready?"

Nick and Judy both dared not speak a word, instead just giving Bogo a nod. Bogo take a deep breath, and uncross his hooves from behind his back. He reached down and lifted the sheet.

Beside her, Judy heard Nick suck in a quick breath. Although she was unable to see it, his body tensed up the sight of what had been hidden underneath the blood-soaked cloth. The vixen sprawled out before them had long since been drained of blood. All of it had leaked out of a gushing wound that had been ripped across her neck. Her lips parted, giving Nick and Judy a glimpse of her fangs.

Although her life being drained completely from her body greatly disturb Judy, what caught her attention was her eyes. They remained wide open, staring out into nothingness. Her once vibrant blue eyes had faded to an almost gray color, unable to see anymore.

Beside her, Judy heard Nick draw in another sharp breath. He turned away from the body and shut his eyes tightly. As he attempted to erase the haunting cadaver from his mind, her empty staring eyes continued to pierce through to the front his mind. Suddenly, he felt a paw take hold of his wrist. Being pulled from the discomfort of his thoughts, Nick looked down to Find Judy holding on to him. She gave him a warm smile, and attempted to better his attitude.

"Are you okay Nick?"

Nick blew out a heavy breath, and Judy watched as his chest deflated. Although it was incomprehensible to her if he had forced it or not, it at least gave her some comfort in knowing that she had broken through to him.

"Yeah, Carrots. I'm fine. Don't worry. This time I'm managing to hold in my stomach contents. So at least that's a step in the right direction."

Judy turned from her fox to gaze back at Bogo. He was no longer making eye contact with them, and was staring at the Vixen that lay between them. It struck Judy that the chief appeared to be even deeper in thought than Nick had been.

"Chief?"

The water buffalo looked up from the corpse to meet the eye of his rabbit officer. He shook his head from side to side, attempting to dislodge any thoughts he no longer wished to envision.

"Um, yes Hopps. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm still just a little shaken at the sight of all of this."

Judy had never seen her commander like this before. Even at the most gruesome crime scenes that she had been called to, Chief Bogo had always been able to maintain a solid composure. While other officers typically crumbled at the sight of such a horrific scene, he had always managed to set an example. The once seemingly unbreakable cape buffalo that she had always looked up to for orders had now taken on an entirely foreign attitude to her.

"I understand that the two of you aren't used to crime scenes like this, but just trust me that I feel just as disturbed by it as you do."

Nick cocked his head to the side and one of his ears fell flat wall the other perked up. His face donned an expression of slight confusion at the Chief's remark.

"Aren't you used to these kind of crimes? I mean, I understand that this one in particular is worse than the majority that you've been called too, but the officer murder we were called to in Bunny Burrow was far worse than this."

Bogo frowned and turned his eyes away from Nick. With his muzzle wrinkled and nostrils flaring, the chief the time had come.

"Well this isn't the only thing that we've found… There's a second victim…"

Both of Nick's ears now fell flat against the back of his head. His tail went from being slightly perked up in the air to falling completely flat on the flagstone patio. Judy finally realized why the wolves she had seen earlier in the kitchen appeared so distraught. Whatever adversity awaited them inside was surely to be far worse than what was before them.

"Just follow me inside. There's no use in trying to delay this any more than I already have."

Bogo looked away from his officers and walked towards the back door of the house. Nick and Judy both followed his lead, finding it didn't take long for them to have trailed behind. Gathering their bearings, they quickly followed to catch up to him. They were forced to take long leaps to match his massive strides.

Bogo opened the back door, and held it open to let his two officers inside. As they stepped onto the cold marble tile, Nick cocked his head back and strained his neck so he could take in the massive height of the ceilings. The house itself most likely had the value of his entire apartment complex.

"I never would have thought that such a horrific crime could come to such a nice neighborhood like this" Nick let out as he continued to stare in amazement at the luxurious interior of the home.

"None of us expected it, Wilde. No one at the ZPD expected it, and the neighbors sure as hell didn't expect it either. You should have seen the looks on all their faces when they walked out of their houses this morning to see our police cars out front. We haven't explained to them what's happened yet, and simply chased them back into their homes. It's not always comfortable for me to keep the truth from mammals, but what they learn is going to greatly impact the community."

"Well Chief, where's the other body? I don't want to put this off any longer than it should be. Just go ahead and give it to us."

Bogo motioned his head towards the door off the kitchen. As he walked towards it, Judy looked back as Nick followed behind her. Instead of meeting her gaze, he continued to stare forward as they followed Bogo. Whatever Nick was thinking about, he was obviously saving it for when they got back home. This only foreshadowed a long night back at their apartment as she tried to resolve Nick's inner thoughts. No matter how long they were going to end up staying awake, she knew Nick needed to relieve his inner thoughts. Whenever he let his emotions bottle up, they typically begin to affect his work.

"Whenever me and a few other officers arrived, we thought the only victim was the one out on the back patio. It turns out that we were completely wrong."

As Bogo swing open the door, Judy got a glance of a car sitting beyond the threshold. They had been led to the garage. As the three of them crossed over the threshold and into the garage, Judy took sight of the two wolves she had seen earlier. They had opened up their briefcases and were busy at work detailing the scene that lay before them. Sprawled across the hood of the car was another fox.

He lay Motionless with a crowbar speared through his abdomen and into the hood of the car. Judy put a paw over her mouth as she took in the full detail of the impaled Todd that lay before her.

"Oh my God…"

His blood ran out from under his body and across the previously flawless mirror finish of the vehicle. It had trickled its way down the body and dripped onto the concrete floor of the garage, forming a dark puddle around the front right tire. As Judy broke her gaze from the blood on the ground, she looked up to examine the body that lay on the car.

The todd was about the same height as Nick, but had a much stronger build. His assumed strength caused Judy to wonder how such a strong mammal had been defeated. This automatically led her mind down a path of the possibility of the assailant being a much larger mammal. Breaking from his abdomen, she looked at his face. Unlike the vixen that had been on the patio, the Todd eyes were closed. Judy said a silent prayer, knowing she would have been unable to deal with another pair of soulless eyes staring at her.

"In case you it isn't obvious enough, this is the vixen's husband."

After Bogo broke the eerie silence, he walked over to the two wolves at the other end of the garage. One of them handed him a piece of paper that had been sealed in a plastic bag. Bogo walked back over to the two of them and handed the sheet of paper to Nick. After a moment of him scanning the document, he turned to Judy and shot her a confused look.

"It's a divorce paper."

He handed Judy the paper. She scanned over it herself, and then looked over at Nick. They both shared a look of confusion on their faces.

"I would have automatically thought that filing for divorce would have caused one of them to murder the other. But since both of them are dead, that theory goes out the window."

Nick took the sheet of paper from Judy's paw and began to glance over it. As he read over the document, Judy turned her attention to the vehicle. While Nick continued to read the divorce paper, Judy walked over to the car and began to inspect it. She looked through a window and began to study the interior.

"Chief, am I allowed to open the vehicle?"

Bogo gave her a nod. "The two wolves have already gathered any kind of DNA evidence from inside."

Judy pulled open the door and began to examine the interior. As her eyes scanned over the leather upholstery, her attention was caught by what appeared to be a few scratches. Upon closer inspection, she noticed they followed a path.

"Chief, can you come look at this?"

Bogo turned from his conversation with Nick and walked over to Judy. As he stepped around and looked inside, Judy motioned her paw to the driver's seat.

"Do you see what I see?"

After a moment of close observation, Bogo turned to face his officer.

"Claw marks?"

"They're not just claw marks Chief. If you look closer, you'll notice they not just dig into the upholstery, but they also trail along it. It looks like our victim dug his claws into the interior and then was pulled from the vehicle and left a trail in his wake."

"So this means that our victim made it into the car, but was then pulled out by his assailant."

"Chief, it's my turn to have you look at something."

The Cape buffalo turned to find Nick had walked up behind them. His paw was outstretched with the divorce paper being displayed in front of Bogo.

"What'd you find, Wilde? I didn't have a chance to fully read this thing."

"Go down to the bottom of the second page. I want you to read under the section labeled _reasoning for divorce_."

Bogo take the paper from Nick's paw. As he held the document in front of his eyes, he reached into his front pocket and pulled out a pair of reading glasses. It always struck Nick as humorous the way Bogo's oversized head dwarfed the small pair of glasses. After a moment of reading over the document, Bogo's eyes slightly widened.

"Well, I must admit that this adds a twist to everything."

Judy cocked her head to the side and outstretched a paw, demanding to be given the paper. While Bogo handed it to her and continued to think, Judy took the paper and began to read over the section that Nick had specified. Her eyes also widened at the contents of the document.

"Sexual misconduct? So that means-"

"Cheating", Nick interrupted as his gaze looked at the time and held onto the hood of the car.

"I'm not sure why our victim decided to write that in such an extremely complicated technical way. It really would have been simpler to write she was a slut."

Bogo flared his nostrils, and immediately shot an aggravated glare at Nick.

"Hold your tongue, Wilde. I don't care what the circumstances look like at this moment in time. I don't want you to make any sort of assumption until we have every speck of evidence gathered. Do I make myself clear?"

Nick tucked his tail between his legs. As he turned his eyes to the ground and away from Bogo, the cape buffalo turned to Judy.

"Hopps, does it specify who she was having an affair with? When we typically see a divorce turn nasty like this, the murdered was typically the mistress or lover. It seems to me that the logical deduction would be that whoever she was cheating with came back to kill the husband."

"But that still doesn't make sense why she's dead, too. If our suspect wanted to kill the todd and live happily ever after with the vixen, he would have left her alive. Not to mention it makes no sense why they would take the kit,"

Judy's ears flattened against the back of her head. Stroking her chin, she became lost in her thoughts.

"Unless the suspect we're looking for wanted her dead as well. Maybe it wasn't a case of he wanted to kill the husband. Maybe he got mad at her and wanted both of them dead."

"May I please make a suggestion?"

Bogo cocked an eyebrow as Nick broke his silence.

"I promise Chief. I won't make any kind of obscene remark."

The Cape buffalo stood silence, allowing Nick to continue.

"If the victim outside on the patio was having an affair with someone, can we assume that there may be DNA evidence in the master bedroom?"

"I'm not exactly sure if that's going to be ineffective technique, Wilde. You have to consider that we run a high chance of finding only our victims' hair in the bed. We would be lucky to find a trace of any sort of DNA that doesn't belong to the two victims."

"I understand Chief, but it's still worth a shot."

Bogo placed his hooves on his hips and looked around the garage. As he continued to think, Nick and Judy met eyes. They both exchanged a silent understanding as they knew the outcome of this event. Whenever Bogo became silent in his thoughts, it was never to find reasoning to let them do what they proposed. It was more to find an excuse to deny it. He always failed, and Nick and Judy always ended up getting their way.

"If you're going to be gathering DNA evidence, I want both of you suited up so that you don't contaminate the scene. Do we have a deal?"

With a unison, "Yes sir", they walked over to the two wolves who handed them both suits. Slipping them on and gathering a duffle bag of utensils, they left the garage and headed upstairs. As they ascended the large staircase, they both remained silent in their own respective thoughts. Finally reaching the top, they headed towards the end of the hall where Nick assumed the master bedroom was. He opened the door and immediately caught sight of the large king bed in the center of the room.

"Alright, Carrots, let's do this."

While Nick walked over to the bed and began to examine it, Judy set their supply bag down on the carpet. She unzipped it and pulled out a collection of plastic evidence bags and a pair of tweezers.

"Carrots, come have a look at this."

Judy turned her attention from her task, and walked over to Nick. He had peeled back the bed sheet. She followed to where his finger pointed.

"Do you see it?"

Judy immediately caught notice of all the red fur contrasting against the white satin sheets.

"Yeah I see it. I never thought someone would be able to shed more than you do."

Nick gave a small smile and shook off his girlfriend's accusation.

"No, I mean take a close look at the fur color. Some of them are gray."

Judy followed Nick's gaze to a section of the bed. Using the pair of tweezers, she pulled a clump of gray fur from the bed sheets. She lifted it up in front of her eyes and examined it closer. As she studied it closer, she began to notice a particular detail.

"Nick, it has the same texture as your fur. That means that whoever this belongs to is also a fox. Do you know what this means?"

She placed the tuft into a plastic evidence bag and zipped it closed.

"It means that we're going to be looking for a grey fox."

Nick stood up and began to pace around the room. As he began to speak, he continued to walk around.

"This is actually a blessing in disguise if you haven't already realized it. Grey foxes are extremely rare. The gene for grey fur in my species is recessive and rarely makes a physical appearance. If we can access those ZPD citizen records, we should be able to find our grey fox easily."

Judy took the bag of evidence back to the duffle bag they had brought with them. She dropped it in and zipped it back up.

"Unless there's anything else you want to look for, I think we can make our way back downstairs and inform Bogo of what we found."

Nick stopped his pacing and glanced over at Judy.

"I think we're all done up here. All we have to do now is get a list of potential suspects, and then we can move on from there."

Judy nodded in response, and placed the duffle bag over her shoulder. As Nick stepped one leg over the threshold, he felt Judy grab his wrist and hold him back. Nick turned to find her gazing into his eyes. Her expression radiated a slight sense of worry that he hadn't seen in months.

"Carrots, what's wrong?"

Judy let his wrist slip from her paw.

"I just want to make sure that you're doing okay. Whenever we were out there looking at the vixen on the patio, you seemed deeply disturbed by it."

Nick let out a small chuckle, which didn't seem to amuse Judy in any way. He quickly shut his mouth and let his face go completely neutral.

"Don't worry about me, Carrots. I'm not exactly pleased with what I've seen this morning, but who would be? Even for a veteran member of the force like Bogo, he was still disturbed by it. The fact that these kidnappings have evolved into murder should be enough to make anyone feel sick. If you want, we can talk more when we get back home. Is that good with you?"

Judy found some momentary comfort in his explanation, but her ears still remained flat against the back of her head. Nick noticed this and got down on one knee in front of her. He placed her head in between his paws, and moved her gaze to stare directly into his.

"Judy, I want you to know that I'm able to control myself right now. So please, I really want you to stop worrying about me. I haven't let my attitude affect my job performance yet, so I certainly don't want it passing on to you."

Judy's ears perked up slightly. She gave him a smile and then pressed her lips to his. Lost in the unexpected contact, Nick slowly fluttered his eyelids closed and lost his mind in the moment. He soon found his arms drifting around Judy's waist. He pulled her in closely for a moment more of enjoyment for breaking their bond.

"Did that satisfy my bunny for now?"

"Yes it did, Mr. Fox."

"Good. Now let's get going before Bogo begins to think that I'm plowing you in the bed."

"There's no way Bogo would ever think we'd do that."

"I wouldn't put it past him. Ever since he caught Fangmyer fucking his girlfriend in a parked patrol car, he's been suspicious of everyone." Nick spoke with a sense of humor to his tone.

They continued down the stairs to the first level of the house. As they rounded the corner back into the kitchen, they saw Bogo standing and looking over the back yard. They assumed that the two wolves had been left in the garage to continue their work. Judy turned to approach her boss, but was stopped as Nick put a paw on her shoulder. He pulled her in closely and whispered in her ear.

"I would wait and tell him what we found tomorrow. Let's just go back to the station and write up our report. It's best to never disturb him when he's like this."

Judy turned to question Nick's statement.

"I saw him like this in his office one time. He screamed bloody murder at me when I tried to ask him a question. Just let him be to his thoughts."

They both continued to stare at their boss as he gazed out through the living room window. Bogo hadn't noticed them coming downstairs. As they looked at the side of his face, they could see him looking out over the yard with an unblinking gaze. His face barren of any emotions, Nick took notice that his eyes were empty of any feeling.

The morning had progressed with their investigation, the sun now high up in the sky. As it illuminated the backyard, it failed to remove the darkness that lingered on the patio. Nick and Judy followed Bogo's gaze. They saw it was directed towards the bloody sheet on the patio. The bright morning light was causing it to cast a sprawling shadow across the stone. As the shadow gradually grew in length, it absorbed anything in its path. Nick slowly placed his paw on his girlfriend's shoulder and began to lead her out the door. As they left, Judy continued to stare at her commanding officer.

He continued to stand completely motionless while watching the sun slowly rise up into the sky. No amount of light it gave off would ever be able to illuminate the darkness left behind by the motionless, bloodied shape just beyond on the glass.

* * *

Nick unlocked the door to their apartment and held it open for Judy as she walked in behind him. As soon as Nick was through the door, he quickly loosened his tie unbuttoned his shirt. Judy did the same, finally able to undo the tight prison of her uniform. As much as she had wanted to wear her typical spandex, they were always required to wear uniform to a crime scene investigation. Bogo had restricted her use of it to only patrols. He had given her the excuse of trying to maintain professional attire at all times, but Judy knew deep down that it was mainly to stop Nick from forming sexual urges around her tight figure.

"Do you want me to pour you a glass of wine? I definitely need one."

"Yes please." Nick spoke with a deep yearning for booze breaking through into his tone. While Judy prepared their drinks in the kitchen, Nick walked over into the living room and collapsed on the couch. He let his head tilt back and stared up at the ceiling. As he stretched his limbs out, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"You sound like you've been sprinting around a track all day."

Nick tilted his head to glance at his bunny while she prepared drinks in the kitchen. He gave her a smile and a slow wink

"It's not really physical exhaustion, but more emotional tiredness. The crime scene truly did take a toll on me. I look at it from the perspective of me running a mental 10k."

Judy walked out the kitchen with a glass of wine in each paw. She handed one to Nick, who graciously took it and hurriedly slurped down the entire glass. He placed the empty glass back in Judy's paw, begging that she fill it once more.

"I've yet to even get one sip down, and you've already downed an entire glass? I guess we really do need to talk about this."

Judy went into the kitchen and returned with the bottle. She set it down on the coffee table in front of her after refilling Nick's class. Taking a sip of her own glass, she enjoyed it before setting it down and turning to her fox.

"Alright, you've had more than your fair share of wine. Now that you seem to have uncoiled, spill the beans. I want to hear everything. Remember, you can tell me anything."

Nick finished off about half of his second glass. He rested the remaining amount on the coffee table, and turned to face Judy.

"I feel completely infuriated that these kidnappings continue to happen. Worse yet, they've now escalated to the point where mammals have actually been killed during all this. Granted we don't know if the other kidnapping victims are still alive, but at least we can still hope that they are."

Nick turned from his girlfriend and gazed out the window of the living room. Judy took notice of how the rising sun caused his fur to burn a bright orange. As Nick took momentary recluse in deep thought, Judy failed in her attempt to try and decipher what Nick was thinking about. No matter how well she got to know him, she always found it impossible to read his expressions. If there was one thing Nick would always keep secret from her, it was how to read his face.

"It's just that I've never been good at being able to handle a violent crime scene. I know that I constantly put on this persona of being the toughest mammal that ever lived, but that's not always true."

Nick paused and leaned forward to take another sip from his wine glass. As he did so, Judy remained silent. Whenever Nick spoke from his deep thoughts, Judy always found it best to never interrupt. It was already difficult enough for him to keep his train of thought, and Judy disrupting it would only worsen the matter.

"I got to thinking on the car ride back here. The crime scene that we were called to in Bunny Burrow truly was more graphic than this one. But the thing that bothered me more about this case was that the parents didn't need to die. The bull that was shot on duty didn't need to die either, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. It's absolutely horrible that he got in the way of Jack Savage. He ended up losing his life because he happened to be the officer on duty at that road block."

Nick paused and let out a long sigh. He reached for his wineglass again and finished it off the other half. He put the glass back on the coffee table and looked at Judy. For the first time in months, she noticed that his eyes were beginning to glisten with tears. Never before had she seen him get so emotional about a case. She had to remind yourself that it was best to just let him keep talking and not ask until he was finished. He had opened up this far to her, and she surely didn't want to cause him to close back up

"What greatly disturbs me about the crime scene that we visited today is that the kidnapper didn't just take the child. He felt the need to go out of his way and kill the parents as well. They did absolutely nothing to stand in his way, yet he felt obligated to slay them anyway. That's what's truly sickening me about all this…"

Nick was now unable to stop two years from slipping out of his eyes. As Nick began to let a few more tears escape, Judy wrapped her arms around him and pulled her fox closer. Nick softly cried into her fur and she continued to hold him tightly. He nuzzled his head in between her neck and shoulders.

"It's not fair for them, Judy. I know they had marriage problems, but it didn't need to end like this for them. It's just not fair…" Nick stumbled over the last few words as he choked on his own sobs.

As he continued to let his emotions out in the security of his own home, Judy hugged him tightly.

" _This case may be more than we can handle_ …" Judy thought as Nick's sobbing threatened to not lighten up any time soon.

Nick continued to drain out his emotions. Judy held him closely, feeling his heartbeat resonating inside of his chest. His sobbing only grew more violent, soon evolving into howls of misery. They bounced off the walls and into Judy's ears. Each one that hit caused a small sting of pain to pierce her aching heart.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	6. The Trial

**Chapter 6: The Trial**

Judy moved her gaze from the judicial panel of the Bunny Burrow courtroom to Nick sitting at her side. His eyes were glued to the screen of his phone while a finger flicked news articles up and out of sight. As a few titles flew by her eyes, she saw the same name appear in every one of them.

"What's everyone saying about him?"

Nick scoffed before locking the screen and placing the device in his chest pocket.

"The exact same clickbait titles we've been seeing ever since Jack's arrest. I'll tell you, Carrots, it never ceases to amaze me that no matter what some mammals do, the media will try and find some weird spin on all of it."

Judy snickered and rolled her eyes.

"I still think my favorite article was the one that talked about some failed campaign to have him sent to a minimum-security prison."

"No matter how dark the crime, the public will always melt in the paws of an attractive criminal," Nick muttered with disgust under his breath.

The sound of doors opening echoed throughout the room, causing everyone's attention to dart in the direction the noise came from. The roar of conversation had now diminished to a soft rumble as two tiger officers appeared in the doorway. Between their large frames stood the shorter, much more slender shape of Jack Savage. The bunny that had put a gun to Judy's head all those months ago now stood just across the room. Now, the only thing separating them from what Judy considered to be evil incarnate was a wooden railing. The two officers slowly escorted Jack into the courtroom, causing the flash of cameras to fill the room like gunfire. As Jack walked along the railing to his seat, his head slowly pivoted to stare across the gallery. Although the members of the press were under the impression that he was flashing a weak smile for their cameras, Nick and Judy could both tell that his eyes were locked on them. Just like the first time they had met, the blue color behind those eyes was devoid of an emotion.

The tigers lifted Jack into the air and slid a chair underneath him. In the blink of an eye, a pair of handcuffs were slapped around his wrists. One officer gave them a good tug before the two proceeded to exit the courtroom. Their booming footsteps were drowned out by the continuing cacophony of camera flashes. Judy watched as Jack's head slowly turned to face her. Nick grabbed her paw and squeezed it tightly to comfort her. A demonic smile spread across his lips. Although Judy was completely oblivious to it, her grip on Nick's paw was continuing to grow tighter as Jack burned holes through her with his gaze until another door opened with a thud. The rabbit's smile slowly faded, and he returned to face the front of the courtroom as the judge entered. A sheep sat down in his chair as the jury returned from deliberation. Once all the animals had taken a seat, the sheep cleared his throat and spoke.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

A female raccoon stood up and addressed the judge.

"We have, your honor," she said in a soft tone that managed to echo in the now dead quiet courtroom.

The bailiff retrieved the paper from her and handed it to the judge. As the sheep donned a pair of reading glasses and began to scan over the sheet, every mammal in the room slowly leaned forward in their seats. Judy could feel her heart booming in her chest as she watched the sheep's eyes read every line of the document. Without a change in facial expression, the judge looked up and stared in the direction of Jack Savage.

"Will the defendant please rise?"

Jack and his attorney rose to their feet as the sound of camera flashes went off once more to capture the moment. The sheep glanced down at the document once more before glaring at the rabbit. Without a single shred of remorse on his face, Jack stiffened his posture and prepared for what he knew would come one day.

"Mr. Savage, this jury has found you guilty of the following charges: twelve counts of arson, one count of murder of a police officer, one count of kidnapping a police officer, and two counts of attempted murder of a police officer. These convictions form a combined minimum of ninety years in prison, with the murder of the police officer carrying a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole."

The courtroom erupted in conversation and more camera flashes. Judy could feel her grip on Nick's paw loosen as relief began to wash over her. Jack's demeanor refused to shift in the slightest as the sheep banged his gavel.

"Order in the court!"

The noise level once again lowered to the point where a pin dropping on the carpeted floor could be heard from anywhere in the room.

"This court has decided that you shall carry out your sentence in the Zootopia maximum security prison located in the Rainforest District. Your custody shall be transferred from Bunny Burrow Police to the ZPD effective immediately."

As the room was prepared to erupt once more, the judge raised an arm in the air, thus extinguishing any beginnings of conversation. The sheep leaned forward in his chair and stared at Jack, who was remaining calm and unmoving.

"It is also to be noted that the jury and myself wanted to make it known that we both feel the sentence given to you will not even come close to justifying the wrongs you have committed upon this world. I hope that you use this time to reflect upon the crimes you have committed, but I know how criminals like you operate. Although it's almost a guarantee that you'll end up wasting away in prison without a single shred of remorse, I hope you can find even the smallest sliver of regret in your soul."

With a final bang of the gavel, the two officers returned, and each placed a paw on Jack. The courtroom was now blaring with noise as reporters yelled from the back of the room. The rabbit took no notice of them as he was slowly escorted towards the exit. As he neared Nick and Judy, his eyes locked on them once more. When he came even with them, Jack ceased his movement. The two officers continued a few steps forward until they realized their prisoner had stopped. Before they could try and force him to continue walking, Nick bolted up from his seat and motioned to them.

"Wait just a moment please!"

All attention was diverted to the railing of the gallery as Jack turned his body to face them. Judy slowly rose from her seat and walked over to the railing to join her fox. Jack looked at her and then to Nick before a smile slowly began to spread over his lips.

"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde, well I must say that the two of you gave some mighty fine testimonies over the past few days," Jack said with a velvety tone.

"I just want you to know that I don't take any of it personally. After all, it's not as if I didn't deserve what got handed to me."

Judy's mind raced with all the different things she had wanted to say to Jack for the longest time. However, she found herself unable to do anything except stare at the rabbit that had terrorized her hometown.

"Feel free to swing by anytime you like and pay me a visit. I imagine that the two of you have enough reputation in the law enforcement community to where that shouldn't be a problem."

Nick crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at Jack.

"This is the last time you're going to be seeing us, Savage. You may think that in the eyes of the media, you're some charming mammal who simply fell victim to his own bad decisions, but the two of us know what you really are."

Nick leaned forward and bent down slightly until his eyes were at Jack's level.

"Have a good life, Jack _Savage_."

Jack slowly let his lips part as a soft laugh escaped his throat. He too leaned forward until his face was mere inches from Nick's. Although the officers on each side prepared to pull the rabbit back, Judy motioned for them to hold off.

"Trust me, Officer Wilde. This will not be the last time that you see me. You may think that you have your case all figured out, but I'll just give you a fair warning. There are things in this world that even the two of you won't be able to figure out. Although I can't say for certain exactly what they are, I can tell you one thing right now."

His voice lowered to a whisper that only Nick and Judy were able to hear.

"You will eventually come _crawling_ back to me..."

Jack straightened his posture and turned towards the exit. As the two officers lead him out, Nick and Judy watched in stunned silence until Jack's figure vanished from the courtroom. The news reporters and cameras soon swarmed around them. Questions fell on deaf ears while the two thought over Jack's words carefully.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	7. Into the Void

**Chapter 7: Into the Void**

Nick stepped back into their office, holding open the door for Judy as she followed in behind him. He quickly shut the door and locked it behind him. Trudging to their shared desk, he collapsed in his chair and let out a long sigh. His head was tilted over the back, and his arms were draped over the arm rests. He let out an aggravated sigh, keeping his head pointed up to the ceiling.

"How about instead of sitting around moping, you actually tell me what's wrong. You know you can open up to me if something's bothering you."

Judy walked across the room and placed a paw on Nick's shoulder. Pulling his attention from the ceiling, he looked down at her and couldn't resist giving her a warm smile.

"If you're really so determined for me to talk, and I guess I have to you. After all, how can I go about all day knowing that I was the cause of your misery?"

"That's the fox I know." Judy leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Nick stroked her hears, and ran his paw over her cheek before speaking.

"Well for starters, I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you were just as disturbed as me by Jack's last words to us before he left the courtroom."

Judy gave a quick nod of agreement before Nick continued.

"I think where we split on all of this is whether or not we believe him. Personally, I believe that what he said to us was merely a scare tactic. It's extremely creepy, but a scare tactic none the less. Knowing how you typically are, I have a feeling that you probably feel that there's always some hidden meaning behind people say. Am I right or am I wrong?"

Judy had now broken eye contact with him and resorted to staring at the worn carpet floor.

"You're obviously not answering me because you're still in some state of shock about it, or you just don't want to admit that I'm right. I'm going to go with the latter choice since it's a lot more likely and you have a history of doing that."

Judy hated to admit it, but Nick was right. He was always right. Judy still couldn't figure out how Nick had the ability to read her face with an almost eerie presission. She knew that this meant she would never be able to keep anything hidden from him.

"You're right. Although most of me keeps telling myself that what Jack said was nothing more than a simple tease, there's still a small thought creeping from the back of my mind telling me that there's some truth to it. I know that it's paranoid and everything, but I can't help thinking that there's just an ounce of truth to what he said. How are you certain that we'll never need his help at some point in the future?"

This question caused Nick's gaze to dart in Judy's direction from starring at the ceiling. She had a small hint of concern burning behind her violet eyes. Nick knew that it was only a minuscule amount, but even the smallest amount of anything was enough to drive her up the wall.

"Carrots, I need you to look at me."

Judy followed Nick's request, and met his worried gaze.

"I understand that you have some worry that what Jack said in the courtroom was true. There's nothing I can do to try and convince you otherwise. That would just be a fruitless effort. But what I can do is ask that you not let this affect your work. I want you to make a promise to me that you won't let this affect how the rest of the case goes. I know it'll be difficult, but do your best to push it all to the back of your mind until we get back home and are able to talk about it. Can you do that for me?"

Judy responded with a silent nod as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"That's the strong Judy I know."

Nick bent down and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"We both know I'm having difficulty maintaining a calm level for this case, but I'll be damned if you start losing it too. At least one of us needs to have our head screwed on straight for all of this, and I feel like you're much stronger than me. I want you to lead the two of us like the strong mammal I know you are."

Judy grabbed the tie of Nick's uniform and pulled his head down to her level. His eyes went wide with surprise as Judy rubbed a finger under his chin.

"You always manage to do an excellent job of flattering me", she said before pressing her lips against his. The tension that had built up from Nick's initial shock at Judy's action slowly melted away as she caressed the chest of his fur. Nick always left the top two buttons of his uniform undone, and it always managed to tease Judy to her very limit.

Judy's ears sprang up to attention as the phone on their desk rang. Separating their embrace, Nick scooted his wheeled chair over to the desk and answered the call. Knowing that the only person to ever call them on their office phone was Chief Bogo, he simply answered with a joking, "Well, I don't really appreciate having a make-out session interrupted. This better be good."

"I need you and Officer Hopps to report to my office immediately." Speaking without any emotion to his tone, Bogo quickly hung up and left Nick speechless.

"I'm going to make an educated guess and say that was a chief. What does he want?"

After a few seconds of silence, Judy turned to find Nick with a puzzled look on his face.

"Nick? Is it something wrong?"

He shook his head a little bit, waking himself up, and wiping the puzzled look from his face.

"He said he just wants us to come to his office immediately. Usually if I answer a call from him with a joke like that, the least I'll get is an aggravated grunt from his end. But just now, he spoke without any sense of emotion whatsoever. I'm starting to wonder what in the living hell he has for us now."

Hopping down from the chair, Nick straightened his tie and finished off the remainder of coffee in his mug.

"Let's go, Carrots. It really doesn't sound like we should be keeping him waiting too long."

Nick held open the door from of their office, letting Judy walk out ahead of him. After they both stepped out into the hallway, Nick shut and locked the door, and they continued down the hallway towards Bogo's office. On the walk there, they both remained silent with their heads straight forward. Neither of them knew what the chief had in store for them, but Nick's mind was brewing with thoughts that he had been trying to push to the back of his mind for a few months.

 _Perhaps the case had finally taken a turn to murder of one of the abducted kits._

 _No, stop thinking like that. You need to remain positive throughout this case. Negativity thinking only has a negative influence on your work._

Finally reaching Bogo's office, Nick slowly raised his paw and knocked on the solid oak door. There was a small moment of silence before Nick heard Bogo's voice echo from the other side.

"Come in." He spoke in the same emotionless tone that Nick had heard over the phone only moments prior.

He grabbed hold of the door handle placed at a lower level for smaller officers and turned it. The cape buffalo sat hunched over his desk with his head cradled in his hooves. Nick could always notice subtle hints whenever the chief was in a sour mood, but he never thought he would see his his boss in such a state of disarray.

"Both of you come in and take a seat. I'm just going to give you fair warning that this won't be pleasant."

To her side, Judy saw Nick's body tense at Bogo's words.

"I know how much both of you hate me to sugarcoat things, so I'm just going to get straight to the point. I received a call this morning saying that there was another kidnapping."

As Judy's attention darted to the fox sitting beside her, she heard Nick let out a groan of pain. Judy knew that any bad news would only irritate him further, but she was thankful that he was able to control himself for the time being.

"I'm not very pleased about this either", Bogo let out in response to Nick's groan.

"I hate to say this, but it only gets worse." Bogo tapped his hooves on the desk for a moment, trying to muster up the courage to speak again. Judy could tell that this case had even taken its toll on him. His once booming voice have been reduced to a dulled mumble whenever he brought up the abductions.

"This abduction occurred in Central Park. The lion cub was abducted from the playground on the east side of the park. A lot of parents were around at the time, so this just makes it even worse that an abduction occurred in broad daylight with multiple witnesses around, but no one seemed to see anything."

Nick held up his paw, motioning for Bogo to cease his speaking.

"If I recall correctly, Central Park is where we had a vast increase of police presence. What officers did we have in the park at the time of the abduction?

"We put them out in pairs. I can pull up the records to tell you which ones were on duty, but all I can recall right now is that we had six officers on duty around the park. One pair was even patrolling in the general area off the playground at the time."

Nick crossed his arms over his chest. As he let out another sigh, Judy could hear that this was not one of sadness or displeasure, but of anger and infuriation.

"It's like whoever is committing these abductions it's just trying to play with us now. I have a feeling they're letting us know that they can abduct a child in broad daylight from right under our observing noses. If we don't start getting another lead soon, this is only going to continue and worsen."

As Nick stopped talking to think, Judy saw his gaze shift out the office window. Although she was no master of reading faces like he was, she was easily able to recognize the expression on his face. Whenever Nick became deep in thought, one of his ears would twitch or his muzzle would wrinkle when he came up with an idea. Although Nick typically was able to conjure up brilliant ideas, Judy worried that his current state of anger and frustration would cloud his thought process. After taking a few more moments to gather his thoughts, Nick turned back to face the chief.

"I got nothing." Judy and the chief both shot a look of surprise at Nick. The two of them sat in unison silence as they stared at Nick.

"Well, you both heard me. I don't have anything. I honestly have no clue where to go from here."

Bogo and Judy continued to sit in utter disbelief. Judy's mind immediately turned to the unthinkable. She never thought the day would come when Nick had no possible solution to their problems. Perhaps this case was getting too difficult even for him.

"Maybe it would be a good idea for the two of you to take the rest of the day off."

"No", Nick grumbled in an emotionless but firm tone.

"Wilde, I want you to just take a moment, take a deep breath, and just think about what I'm saying."

Nick sat in silence, and only gave a response by rolling his eyes.

"I'm going to take that as 'I'll keep my mouth shut'. You two have been working on this case for months. And I'm not talking about just an occasional few hours a day on this. It has completely consumed you, both of you. I'm not trying to criticize your devotion to this case, but I'm saying that you need to learn to take a break from this. Your mind can't continue to function at full capacity if you keep straining it every day. All I'm asking for is that the two of you spend the rest of the evening relaxing and not stressing out over this. A holiday for your mental health will do a lot more than you think it will."

"Is that our only option", Nick asked as he rolled his eyes again.

"It's either that or stick you two on parking Duty for the next three days. It's your decision. I suggest that you choose wisely. Nick turned to find Judy looking at him. Although her expression was one of firmness, Nick could see behind her eyes she was simply asking just listen to the chief's advice.

"If you really think it's for our own good, fine."

Nick hopped down from his chair. Judy quickly sprang to action and followed him to the door. As he opened it, Judy gave a quick nod to Bogo as thanks for persuading Nick to take a break. She knew he'd been needing it, but she had been reluctant to interrupt his thought process on the case. Bogo returned the nod with a forced smile, failing to hide the sadness and anger that he felt deep within. She turned and followed Nick out the door as he held it open for her. With a final look at her disgruntled commanding officer, Judy turned to follow her fox back to their office.

As they walked down the empty hallway, Judy would occasionally glance up at Nick. He kept his gaze pointed forward. Whatever was brewing inside of his mind, Judy knew he wanted to talk about it in the isolated privacy of their office. Over the course of the past few months, this had happened at least twice a month. Judy had grown used to seeing Nick stay silent has he tried to digest any news, or lack of it, that they would be informed of. She had learned by now to Simply remain silent until they reached their office.

Approaching their destination, Nick remained silent and unlocked the door. He held it open for Judy, giving her a forced smile as she walked past him. He followed her in and shut the door. Walking around and quickly sliding the blinds down over the windows, he stood facing the wall in silence. Judy hesitated to speak at first, but soon summoned up the courage to speak to him. I

"I'm not going to bother asking you if something's wrong. I can already tell something is. All I ask is that you talk about it with me. You know I don't like you bottling up your troubles inside."

"It's not fair", he mumbled under his breath, with Judy unable to make out what he had said.

"Nick, if you want me to help you're going to have to speak up."

"I said it's not fucking fair." As he spoke the last word, Nick slammed his clinched paw against the door. A loud thud echoed throughout the room, causing Judy to slightly shrink back in fear. Her ears immediately fell flat against the back of her head.

Nick walked from the door to the filing cabinet next to their desk. Drawing back his leg, he gave it a powerful kick and slammed both paws on it at the same time. Although he stopped his leg after the first kick, he still continued to slam his fist against it.

"It's just not fair", he muttered out through clenched teeth. Judy knew that the case had been taking a toll on him, but she had not the slightest idea that he had built up such a horrifying rage inside of him. What stood before her was not the typical fox she loved. It was a rage-fueled monster.

"Nick…", Judy let out through trembling lips as she slowly stepped towards him.

He was no longer banging on the filing cabinet, but still had both fists planted in the dents that he had made on the surface. His head hung low between his arms, his lips still pulled back to reveal his clenched fangs.

"Nick, you really need to talk to me. I can't help if you just remain silent."

She reached out and placed a paw on his shoulder, causing his head to quickly turn and face her. As she gazed into his eyes, Judy quickly retracted her outstretched arm and quivered back in fear. The look of anger in his eyes burned more intensely than Judy ever thought it could. As Nick caught sight of the terrified expression on her face, his angry demeanor quickly deteriorated. He reached out to place a paw on her shoulder, only to have Judy slightly draw away. He froze his outstretched arm in midair, locking his eyes with Judy's terrified gaze. Nick lowered his paw slowly, and stepped towards her.

"Carrots, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like that." Nick got down on one knee to put his eyes at level with hers. Reaching out, he embraced her in a hug. Although she refused to return the embrace, she didn't hesitate to let him touch her. Judy just stood in his embrace, her mouth hanging slightly open and a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You know I worry about you, Nick. This case has taken its toll on me too, but I can see it in your eyes everyday. It's eating you up more than it is me."

She heard Nick sniffle, failing to maintain silence. Although she couldn't see his face, Judy new that he had let one or two tears slip out. She had rarely seen Nick cry. This was mainly due to him being able to hide it most of the time. But on occasion, he was unable to keep his composure. For now, he was holding strong, but Judy didn't know if it would continue like that.

"I'm just ashamed of myself for not talking to you about these past few months. After all, I was the one started the idea of never keeping secrets from one another. Seems hypocritical of me, doesn't it?"

He released his embrace on her, and placed a paw on each of her shoulders.

"You're completely right that I should have been honest with you a long time ago. It just keeps bothering me that most of the victims are just so young and innocent. It just kind of drove me over the edge today when I learned that there was another one. I have been close to the edge for a while, but that was just the final straw. There's no way I can really take away the anger that I feel right now."

Nick removed one of his paws from her shoulder and lifted her chin up with a finger. Giving her a warm smile, she finally felt at ease.

"But what I can do is work my hardest to manage it properly. I know you're not completely ecstatic to hear that I can't get completely rid myself of this, but I hope that you find some comfort in knowing that I'll use every fiber of my being to control it. Now, does that make you happier?"

She gave him a smile, feeling no reason to fake it.

"That's the face I like to see." Nick stood up and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head. He walked back over to their shared desk and grabbed a thin stack of papers from on top of it.

"Let's get out of here and go home. I questioned it at first, but now that my head is clear I realize that Bogo was right. We're overworking ourselves and are desperately overdue for a rest."

They exited their office, Nick locking the door behind them. As they walked down the main hallway towards the exit of the building, Judy stole occasional glances up at her fox. For the first time in a few weeks, he was smiling as they left the building. It was certainly more than just a pleasant change, and Judy hadn't been expecting it this morning when she walked into work.

As they entered the lobby, Judy waved goodbye to Clawhauser, who sat at his desk with his face in a box of donuts. He quickly waved a paw and then immediately put it back into the box. Judy noticed that Nick had also waved goodbye. When the Cheetah wasn't trying to stuff something Gazelle related down their throat, Nick thought the cheetah was tolerable.

Stepping out into the August air, Nick took in a deep breath and enjoyed the moment. The city air may not have been nearly as enjoyable as that a bunny burrow, but Nick knew they would be back there soon enough for Autumn to enjoy it.

"Alright, Nick, you can enjoy the air more when we hit the road. Let's get home."

Judy took a few steps into the parking lot, soon discovering that Nick had not followed her. She turned around, finding him staring into the air.

"Let's go, Nick. We need to beat the traffic for lunch hour."

Nick continued to stand motionless, his gaze unmoving. Judy rolled her eyes and found a small grin tug at the corners of her lips. She walked back over to her fox and took hold of his paw. Giving it a pull, he remained in place.

"Really, Nick? What's the hold up?"

"We can go home for a little bit, but then we need to head out again. I think I finally have an idea in the works."

* * *

Finnick walked around under the raised car, his head craned back as he studied the underneath of the vehicle. With each new piece of damage that he found, he circled the area on a printout he had attached to his clipboard. He gave it one last look over and then walked out from under it back towards the front office. Opening the door, Roger walked out past him. The hyena shot Nick a wink, which the fox gratefully returned.

He climbed up onto the counter top and called out the last name of the zebra he had spoken to her earlier. She stood up from the chair in the waiting area and walked over to meet him, her son trailing close behind.

"Alright, how bad is it? Did you find anything new that the other body shops didn't find?"

Finnick glanced over the print out on his clipboard one more time.

"It doesn't appear so. The thing that will probably surprise you is that I found less than what the other body shop quoted you."

She gave him a confused look, asking him to explain in further detail. Finnick placed the diagram on the countertop and spun it around to face her.

"The first thing I looked at was how that other shop quoted you on replacing all four shocks. While your front ones are blown out, the back ones don't need replacing. They're a little worn, but still have another 10,000 miles on them."

The zebra nodded, motioning for him to continue on with his list.

"The next thing you were quoted on was damage to your rear axle. I hate to admit it, but it is cracked and will need replacing. What upsets most people about this repair is not the cost of the part, but the cost of the labor for removing many different components to get to."

The mother turned and scowled at her son, causing him to shrink back in fear.

"However…"

The angered look disappeared from her face as she turned back to the small fox.

"You were also quoted as needing to replace your differential casing. I was reading over the paper you were given by the other shop, and they listed that it had a major crack in it. I looked it over thoroughly and found nothing."

Finnick spun the clipboard back to face him and read it over once again.

"Other than that, there's nothing but minor scuffs to the frame. You should consider yourself very lucky that your son didn't cause permanent frame damage. In most of the cases that come through here, a cracked frame is usually considered totaled by your insurance."

The mother let out a sigh before before turning her attention back to her son. "I suppose you're right. Anyway, how much do you think this is going to cost to get repaired?"

"Well, it would probably take one or two days labor to make the repairs. After you factor that in with cost of parts, it'll probably run you around $3,000."

For the first time since they had been there, the mother gave Finnick a smile.

"Really? I was honestly expecting to have to sell an arm and a leg to be able to pay for this. That's the best price I've heard this week."

"In all honesty ma'am, I did end up knocking off quite a few repairs from this list that other shops had quoted you on. You're more than welcome to call another shop and get an estimate on all the problems I listed for you."

"Oh nonsense", the mother said while pulling a checkbook from her purse. "I really see no better option than to go with this place. If I call another shop asking for an estimate of only the repairs you listed, they'll find some other way to screw me out of my money. This seems to be the only shop in Zootopia that gives a fair price without charging for needless repairs. Thank you very much for doing that."

Finnick looked over at the printer to his side as it finished printing the estimate.

"Please, there's no need to thank me for being honest. That should be expected."

He grabbed the finish document from the printer's tray and handed it to her.

"I'll need a check today for a down deposit of $800 so we can order your parts. They'll come in from an auto parts supplier here in the city, so we can begin work on your car tomorrow and have it out by the following day by noon. Just go ahead and write down all your information so I can contact you when it's ready."

While the zebra filled out the form, Finnick took her check and placed it in a lockable drawer under the countertop. He removed the key ring from his side and locked it back.

"Here you go. And once again, thank you very much."

Finnick took the clipboard with the filled out information from her and began to look it over. "It's no probl-"

The fox paused as he caught sight of the hundred dollar bill clipped to the board with the estimate sheet. He took it off and handed it back to her.

"Um, excuse me ma'am, I don't think you meant to leave this here."

"Oh no I most certainly did. That's for you."

"I apologize, but I really can't accept this. I just personally feel that being honest is something I shouldn't be rewarded for. It's my job."

"Oh no, it's not just that."

Finnick now looked completely lost in the situation.

"This may have been a couple of years ago, but I still remember it quite well. I was walking along the shopping district of Savannah Central when I spotted a table selling purses on the street. When I approached and asked for the price of one, I was astonished at how low the price was. However, it didn't take me long to realize that they were all fakes. When I tried confronting you and that other red fox about it, I was immediately yelled at and told to walk away so I didn't drive away potential buyers. I never thought I could see two mammals as angry as you and that other fox were. I thought to myself that at least I never had to see such awful mammals like you again."

It was at this last sentence that Finnick's ears drooped.

"However, it was a little under a year ago that I saw that red fox again on the TV. I had honestly been expecting to see him being arrested for some sort of crime, not for solving the Night Howler case and becoming the first fox cop of the ZPD. It was at that moment that I realized everyone has the potential to change. And now, here you are standing in front of me. You've turned your life around and started making an honest living just like your friend. I have immense respect for that, and I wanted to let you know that at least one mammal in this city took notice of the changes you've made to better your life."

She reached back into her purse and pulled out another hundred dollar bill.

"Assuming that you still talk to your friend, give him this whenever you see him."

With that, she took her son's hand and exited the building. Finnick remained standing on the countertop, barely able to keep his jaw from dropping. After staring at the money for another few seconds, he gently took it, folded it up, and placed it in his wallet.

"Excuse me? I need some assistance."

Finnick glanced down over the edge to find Nick and Judy waiting in front of the desk.

"Nick? When I offered to give you a tour of the shop, I was hoping you would have the decency to at least call first. But since it's almost time to close up shop, I guess that doesn't matter."

"I'm not just here about the tour. Would you mind if we went and talked in your office? We have a proposal for you."

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	8. A Cry for Everyone

**Chapter 8: A Cry for Everyone**

Nick and Judy enter Finnick's office, the small fox closing and locking the door behind them. His boss had installed a door knob at the fox's short height. Although it may have been a small gesture in the eyes of his coworkers, Finnick knew that it meant more to him than they would ever understand. For someone who had grown up having to stand on a stool to open most doors, it made his time at work a whole lot easier. Nick and Judy took their seats in a pair of chairs facing Finnick's desk. The fox went around his desk and jumped up onto his chair.

"Alright Nick, I'm just going to say this now and get it out of the way. If you came here asking me to do one last scam, you can immediately count me out."

Nick reclined back in his chair, an arm draped over the side and his feet up on the desk.

"Don't worry about that, Finny," Nick let out with a laugh. He knew Finnick despised the nickname, but couldn't resist the urge.

"We both know damn well that those days have permanently been put behind us."

Finnick let out a forced chuckle, trying to redeem himself for asking the question in the first place.

"Well considering the behavior you've exhibited in the past, I was at least somewhat justified in my suspicions."

"Come on," Nick said as he threw a paw up in the air. "I'm not as big of a monster as I used to be."

Judy nudged his side, signaling him to steer the conversation to what they had come here for.

"Don't worry carrots. I didn't forget."

Judy rolled her eyes, unable to keep a smile from forming on her lips.

"Anyway, let's get down to business. As I said when we got here, we have a proposition for you. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, and hear me out until the end."

Finnick cocked an eyebrow, causing one of his ears to droop down and the other to perk up.

"Considering some of the lies I've told you and truths I've kept tucked away, I don't blame you for giving me that look. Once again, all I ask is that you hear me out."

Finnick drummed his fingers on the desk and gave Nick a silent nod to continue.

"Like most mammals in Zootopia, I'm sure you've heard about all of the abductions that have been occurring?"

"How could I not have heard? They fill up every available time slot on the news. It's kind of hard not to hear about it every waking moment of the day."

Nick slightly hesitated at speaking the next part. He scratched the back of his head for a few seconds in silence.

"This never gets easier for me to say, but there's been another one."

Finnick's eyes went wide at this, his muzzle hanging slightly ajar at the news.

"You're kidding. Another one? What does that make, eighteen?" He winced at the thought of the numbers slowly climbing over the past few months. "At this rate, it's only going to continue getting worse. So where was this latest one?"

"On the playground on the east side of Central Park."

"Judging from common sense, the playground seems to be a prime target for kidnapping, I would put a few officers on regular patrol around there."

"That's just the problem," Nick said with an undertone of defeat in his voice. "We already had regular patrols around that area when it happened. Yet somehow, he managed to slip right underneath our noses."

Finnick sat in silence for a moment as his mind tried to process what he had been told. After a moment, he shook his head and pulled himself out of his mental trance.

"There hasn't been anyone to come forth and say they saw something?"

Nick once again only nodded in silence, his muzzle scrunched up with a hint of anger.

"Not a single mammal. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. When I first got told the news, it only makes logical sense that at least someone would have seen something. Surprisingly, that's not even the worst part of it. It's not just that someone didn't see the kidnapper, but that the whole incident didn't yield a single shred of evidence. No one saw a mysterious vehicle leave the area, or hear the child scream as they got taken away. It's been nothing but complete silence on this."

Nick looked back up to face his friend sitting at the desk. For a small Fox, he could see that Finnick had more anger burning inside his small form than it could hold. Ever since Nick could remember, Finnick had a soft spot for children. As much as he used to enjoy beating other mammals up in back alleys, he swore that he would never bring harm to a child.

"So now what are you going to do? It seems like you've exhausted all of your resources."

Nick once again scratched the back of his head and tried to avoid Finnick catching a glance at his nervous look.

"Well… that's where you come into all of this."

Nick managed to avoid trailing off at the end of his sentence, but was unable to hide the nervous look on his face. He sat in silence and complete stillness, waiting for Finnick to piece it all together. At first, he just sat there staring out into open space. Nick worried that he hadn't made the connection, but this was soon alleviated as Finnick's eyes grow wider than they had before. His jaw dropped slightly. He was unable to determine if he wanted to give a look of disgust, fear, or anger.

"Oh no… no no no no no no no no. I know exactly what you fucking want Nick, and you can count me out. I want nothing to do with this!"

Finnick jumped down from his chair and start heading towards the door. Nick swung around in his swivel chair to face his friend who held open the door for them.

"Oh come on, Finnick. Can you seriously not let us state our case to you before you throw us out?"

Finnick refused to make eye contact with Nick, keeping his gaze pointed to a corner of the room. As much as he wanted to kick the two of them out, shut the door and lock it, Finnick couldn't bring himself to tell his friend no. He continued to grip the doorknob harder, causing the skin under his fur to turn pink. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he turned to Nick.

"I'll let you make your case. But I don't want you trying to sugarcoat anything or blow smoke up my ass. I just want you to give it to me straight forward. Do I make myself clear?"

"Clear as day," Nick said with a small grin pulling at the corner of his lips. As the small fox trudged over to his desk, he thought about how he hadn't been this mad in months. He kept running the same thought through his head as he sat down.

 _Nick isn't purposefully trying to make you upset. You owe it to him to hear him out. Just keep a level head and listen and get this over with._

Finnick sat back down in his chair and faced Nick and Judy. He kept his expression straight and his gaze pointed at the two of them without any emotion.

"Alright, give it to me straight. I just want to get this over with and go home for the night."

Nick leaned forward and placed is crossed arms on the desk.

"We need your help in this. The kidnapper obviously will be suspicious around anyone in uniform, but he may not be so cautious around children. I thought to myself, I think I know just the perfect mammal to go undercover on the playground."

Finnick furrowed his brow and gave Nick a cold glare.

"You and I both know how much I hated dressing up in that stupid elephant costume. There's nothing I despise more than having to act like I'm four years old. It's bad enough that I look like it, too."

Finnick took a moment to run his small paws over his body, emphasizing the point.

"If I could barely stand being out in public acting like a kit in a costume, what on Earth makes you think I would do it out in the open without anything to hide my identity?"

For the first time since they had entered his office, Judy spoke up from Nick's side.

"The ZPD would have no problem dying your fur color and giving you colored contacts. You may not think it makes a lot of difference, but believe me when I say it does. Nick had to be dyed white for a mission in Tundra Town. After seeing his fur white and his eyes light blue, I could hardly recognize him. I know it's not a lot easier on your conscience, but I really do hope it makes you reconsider what we're offering."

Finnick shook his head and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Nick and Judy locked eyes as they both read each other's thoughts. They were extremely grateful that Finnick hadn't stormed out of the room at this point. Perhaps they had even a slight chance of making this whole plan work.

"Let's say I go through with all of this clown makeup that you suggest."

Nick and Judy turned to face their friend who continued to stare up at the ceiling. He reclined back in his chair, placing his legs up on the desk and his arms behind his head.

"What happens if I actually get kidnapped? I know that I'm supposed to be merely observing, but what's your plan for a worst-case scenario? You were the one who said but no one has ever seen this guy before. If I get abducted and you weren't there to witness it, it would seem pretty suspicious if I pulled out a cell phone and called for help."

"That's why I'll be monitoring your location from a vantage point. There're many buildings that overlook that park. It wouldn't be difficult for us to use a set of binoculars to keep an eye on you. If the kidnapper happens to pick you, then we'll simply follow him."

"And just how are you supposed to follow him if you're watching me from the roof of a building?"

"We'll tag you," Judy said in a matter-of-fact tone. "We'll have patrol cars waiting at the exit to each parking lot in the park. We'll also have officers stationed at the walking exits. Whether he takes off on foot or decides to leave in a vehicle, we'll be able to stop him before you get a quarter mile from the park."

Finnick sat up in his chair again. He cocked his head to one side and held it in his paw. As he drummed his fingers on the desk, Nick and Judy could see the inner workings of his mind going at full power.

"Don't take this as an insult, but how am I completely guaranteed that I won't be taken away."

Nick knew that his friend meant no harm, but still felt a small bit of pain at what had been said.

"Judy and I lay down our lives for our fellow officers. They're more than just co-workers, they're also our family. And I also include you in my family. I would lay down my life for you just like I would for my fellow officers."

"You're family to me, too," Judy said as she gave Finnick a heart-warming smile.

Finnick sat in his chair without muttering another word. His eyes were pointed down at the desk, but his mind was too clouded with thought to pay attention to his surroundings. As Nick looked over his face, he saw a look that he never thought would ever appear on him. It was a look of worry. Finnick was the last mammal Nick would ever think to worry. He constantly emitted a of personality of toughness and sheer durability. The small fox blinked his eyes and returned to reality. Giving a glance to Nick and Judy, he let out a long sigh.

"You promise you'll keep me safe," Finnick asked without letting the obvious worries seep into his tone.

Nick and Judy both shook their heads. Finnick blew out a puff of air and ran his paws over his ears. He slicked them down against the back of his head and let them spring back up.

"Then I guess I'm in. It's not like there's any other route you can take at this point. I'm your last remaining hope to get a lead before they strike again."

With a high-pitched squeak, Judy jumped down from her chair and ran over to Finnick.

"Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around his torso, squeezing him with all her might. Finnick's eyes went wide as he felt the wind rush out his lungs. Even for Judy's size, she managed to slightly lift him up from the chair. Glancing to Nick, Finnick gave his friend a pleading look of desperation. Nick stood up and walked around the desk to pull Judy off him.

"Alright, Carrots, that's enough. Don't make him change his mind."

With one final squeeze, Judy released her grasp. Finnick dropped back down into his chair and took a moment to catch his breath. She turned and grabbed hold of Nick's paw.

"It's starting to get late. I think we should be going," Judy let out with a yawn. Nick bent down and planted a kiss on top of her head.

"You're right. I didn't sleep well last night, and could really use a few extra hours. Not to mention I can finally snuggle up with you in bed and not be completely stressed out."

Judy giggled and ran a finger across Nick's chest. This caused his body to tremble under her touch with a soft moan. Finnick cleared his throat, causing attention to be on him.

"If you two are done trying to test the limits of my gag reflex, would you mind if I had a private word with Nick?"

Nick turned to Judy who planted a quick kiss on his lips. "I'll go wait in the car. Just don't keep me waiting too long."

She smiled and then walked out the office, closing the door behind her. Once Nick heard the front door of the building shut, he turned to Finnick.

"You know if you had a question, you really can talk to both of us. She's going to be just as involved in this as I am."

"This isn't about the case."

Nick cast him a look of confusion, silently asking for him to elaborate.

"You told me a couple of months ago you were going to propose to her. I was expecting to hear from you with big news a few weeks after that. What happened? Don't tell me you got cold feet about it. I thought we had talked about this."

Nick let out a soft chuckle, causing Finnick to cock an eyebrow.

"There's no need for you to worry. I don't have cold feet or anything like that. I just feel like I should wait until we get this case solved. It just doesn't feel like a good time right now."

Finnick gave Nick his typical 'please explain' look as he grabbed his car keys from a desk drawer.  
The fox swung them around on his finger and then placed them in his pocket.

"Like I just said; right now feels like a bad time to ask her."

"A bad time? She seems perfectly fine right now. Don't you think that this would cheer her up?"

Nick stood in silence, leaning on Finnick's desk for support. His eyes darted to a corner of the room, not wanting to make any conversation with his friend.

"Nick? If something's bothering you, you can tell me."

Nick reluctantly locked eyes with him, finding no way to escape the trap his friend had set.

"We may seem fine on the outside, but this is really taking a toll on us. There's just a constant fear in the back of mind that she may too stressed to think straight. I don't want to ask her the big question and find out later that she regrets her decision."

Nick paused and glanced at Finnick. His friend had followed every word he said, and sat in complete silence.

"Neither of us are thinking as straight as we should right now. I just feel that I should hold off until we're both back to our normal selves."

Finnick opened his mouth to speak, but found no words to combat what Nick had said.

"Although I may not completely agree with that, I understand where you're coming from. It's your choice man. Make the call when you feel ready for it."

Nick let out a playful laugh.

"I'm hoping that with your help, we could finally get a lead in this case. When we finally have some leads to go with, she and I will be able to think clearly again. I hope that with your help, the proposal will be sometime in the very near future."

Finnick smiled for the first time that evening. As Nick pulled his jacket from the back of a chair and began to slip it on, Finnick simply stared at him. The fox he knew no longer fantasized about the next hustle he could pull. Instead, he saw a friend who had pulled his life together. Instead of thinking the future held more mammals to con, Nick now viewed the future with hopes of a wife.

"You know I'm proud of you, Nick."

Nick pulled the jacket around his torso and zipped it shut. Leaning down to Finnick's height, he embraced his friend in a hug. Although he had never given any heartfelt physical contact to anyone but Judy and his mother, Finnick didn't hesitate.

"I'm proud of both of us. We needed to make changes, and by God we did it."

Finnick soon found his arms returning Nick's embrace. At this moment in time, his mind was absent of maintaining his tough personality. He simply hugged the only true family he had left as a tear rolled down his cheek.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	9. Under the Sun

This chapter uses the song "Changes" by Black Sabbath.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Under the Sun**

"Here you go."

Judy set a glass of wine on the end table to Nick's side. He returned the gesture with a smile as he continued to tune his guitar. She sat down in the chair next to him, and looked out over the balcony. The sun had just begun to set, causing an orange glow to color everything it touched. Judy loved the scent drifting on the breeze from the park across the street. Every once in a while, she would glance at Nick and catch his nose twitching as he took a wiff.

"Thanks, Carrots," Nick said in a relaxed tone after taking a sip from his glass. With a gentle clink, he placed it back down on the table. Tuning the last string, he gave them all a strum and a nod of approval. Jude shook her head as she took another sip from her glass.

"I don't understand how you find that relaxing. It just appears to be more work than enjoyment."

Nick laughed as he stared out at the view from their balcony. Judy was hypnotized by his fur glowing red from the sunlight. There was just something about the intense fire of his fur color that a bunny boyfriend could not possible give her.

"Sure it's tedious, but I get enjoyment out of it. Compared to everything we had to do at work this week, I consider this to be relaxation."

Judy drank from her glass and looked out over the city. While her coworkers relaxed by staring mindlessly into a tv, Judy enjoyed simply looking at the city she protected and loved. As she watched the small shapes of other mammals walking around the streets, Nick began to play beside her. After strumming a few chords, Judy heard a pop.

"Aw, damn it!"

She glanced over to see one of the strings have popped. Nick looked down in frustration as the frayed steel cable lay limply towards the ground.

"Like I told you, it's more work than enjoyment."

"No matter how much I have to do, I never think it's not worth the trouble. I see it more as a hobby than a chore."

Nick reached into the case to his side and pulled out a pack of spare strings. He pulled out a new wound-up string and placed it on his leg. While he pulled the old one off the guitar, he let out a sigh.

"Still view this as nothing more than a hobby," Judy asked with a laugh as she watched Nick struggle with the broken string.

"What? Oh no, I'm not sighing at this. I just can't get the thought out of my head about how tomorrow is going to work out. I know that deep down inside, Finnick is going to cooperate with us. I just have this voice in the back of my head nagging me that he's going to resist."

Judy turned and shot Nick a questioning glance.

"I don't understand why he would resist. We've told him what he's going to undergo tomorrow at least three times over."

"The thing is that he doesn't act like a normal mammal. He has a tendency to be overly sensitive at almost everything. You should have seen him when he had his eighth birthday party. We had managed to take him to a restaurant with money that took months to pool together. The only thing that we hadn't known at the time was that he hated public acknowledgement. When all the servers started singing to him, he flipped out and ran out of the restaurant. I'm not going to go into detail, but let's just say that we were lucky the manager didn't press charges against us for damages."

Judy rolled her eyes and took another sip from her glass.

"Let's just hope that there's nothing tomorrow that sets him off. The last thing I want is him carried away from our preparations in handcuffs."

Nick let out a chuckle as he began to wind up his new guitar string. With each turn of the knob, he plucked it and listened to the resonance. After each pluck, one of Nick's ears would twitch as he listened carefully for it to finally hit the note perfectly.

"There's no need to worry about that. Whenever Finnick gets irritated, he doesn't get physical anymore. It typically ends with him just getting very frustrated and taking out his anger verbally. Of course the language he uses is extremely foul, but I much prefer that to him assaulting someone."

Nick turned the knob to tighten the string one more time. With a final pluck, the string rang out a note that Nick found acceptable.

"You've known him a lot longer than I have, so I'm just going to trust you on this one. I hope with every fiber of my being that he doesn't go off tomorrow."

Nick stopped playing the tune he had been strumming and gave his girlfriend a look of amusement.

"My oh my, you always seem to be worked up about the smallest things. Maybe if you were a little looser, you would find yourself worrying less," Nick said with a chuckle as he reached for his wine glass and took another sip.

"As I recall from last night, you said you didn't like it when your partner was loose. If I remember your exact words, it was something along the lines of, 'God I love it when you're this fucking tight.'"

Nick choked on the sip he had taken. He placed a paw over his mouth to keep the expensive beverage from splattering all over the balcony.

"And you have the nerve to tell me to watch what I say out here in the open," he let out with a laugh after forcing the wine down.

"The only difference is that I make sure there's no one around to hear me."

Nick let out another chuckle before their conversation died down. They both sat in silence for a moment, not knowing what to say next. Judy's swirled the red liquid around in her glass as her mind raced with new conversation topics.

"I'm sorry if I seem to be overworked about tomorrow, too. It's just that this is the first time we could really have a lead develop. There's nothing more I really want now then to just get this dreaded case over with. It would be nice to fall asleep one night and not have to fear waking up in the morning."

Nick was taken aback by this sudden admittance, causing him to cease movement as his paw began to wrap around the neck of the guitar.

"I didn't know you were having trouble falling asleep, too." Nick paused as he finished the remaining liquid in his glass.

"There've been some nights when I've woken up at three in the morning. I typically just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. I'll either fall back asleep within an hour or so or just lie awake until our alarm goes off."

Judy placed a paw on her chest, letting out a shocked gasp. She soon removed it from her chest and placed it on Nick's thigh. He glanced over at her and let a smile pull at the corners of his lips. Nick rested his guitar down against the end table and stood up. He walked over to Judy and bent down, placing a kiss on top of her head.

"How about we just stop this for a moment? I know we agreed to talk about any problems we had, but I just want to take a break for tonight. We can talk about this tomorrow morning before we go to work if that's okay with you. For now, I just want to get lost in bliss and forget about our problems."

He lifted a paw and caressed her cheek. The light from the setting sun burned on her fur, causing one side of her face to take on an orange tint.

"I'd like that Nick. I'd really like that a lot." Judy spoke with a sense of relief in her voice.

Nick now ran his paw from her cheek to under her chin and lifted her head up to meet his. He placed his lips on hers, watching as her eyes slowly fluttered shut. Judy had forgotten how long it been since he kissed her like this. They had had the occasional peck at work, but it lacked the passion that Judy yearned to feel from her fox. The case had taken a toll on them more than she had realized. Hopefully it would end soon so she could return her full attention to their relationship.

"I'll be right back. Just hold tight."

Judy had not noticed that Nick left. She found herself left with her head reaching out into midair with pursed lips and closed eyes.

"Damn, I needed that more than I thought," she whispered to herself as Nick walked over to his record shelf. He walked over to the end of the shelf and looked for an album. Running a finger along their spines until it stopped over the one he was looking for. Pulling it off the shelf, he removed the record from its sleeve and placed it on the turntable platter. Dropping the needle down on a certain part of the record, he walked outside as the music began to play.

 **Begin " Oh! Sweet Nuthin' "**

Nick walked back out onto the balcony with a paw extended in Judy's direction.

"May I have this dance?"

Judy giggled as she extended her paw and let Nick take hold of it. It had been a few months since Nick danced with her. She had not thought about it until now, but she missed those afternoons and nights when they danced out on the balcony with music enveloping them. She felt like she was on her own little island where no problems could bother her. Perhaps tonight she would have another small taste of that feeling.

Judy felt Nick's free arm wrap around her waist and pull her in close. He then placed his head on top of hers. He quietly hummed along to the tune of the music. As he slowly got louder, Judy could feel the vibrations from his throat on top of her head. It was strange at first, but she soon found that she enjoyed it. She and Nick cuddled when they went to sleep each night, but this was the first time in weeks that she felt this close to him. Falling asleep with Nick's embrace provided Judy with unimaginable comfort, but this felt different.

"Nick?"

"Mhm?" he murmured while keeping his chin resting on top of her head.

"Am I the only one who thinks that it can't possibly get better than this? I'm really starting to think that this is what true love feels like."

Nick let out a throaty chuckle while rubbing a paw up and down the small of her back. This caused Judy to melt further into his arms.

"I've thought the same thing once or twice, Carrots. It just never occurred to me that a simple moment like this could be the most comforting. I always thought it would be when we danced at our wedding. If this isn't what true love feels like, then I have no idea what the hell does."

"What was that about our wedding?"

Judy felt Nick's body tense at the realization of his mistake.

"Nothing. Just forget about it. That's something we'll discuss later."

Judy wrapped her arms around Nick's waist and pulled tight. She inhaled deeply, letting Nick's scent invade her nostrils and take over her sensory. She had had a few boyfriends growing up, but none of them ever smelled like Nick did. Sure, some of them had a scent that caused her to be slightly attracted, but none of them ever came close to completely overtaking her mind like Nick did.

"You know I love you, Nick."

"I love you too, Judy."

* * *

"No way! I'll be damned if you try and put that fucking thing in my ear!"

Finnick swatted away Nick's outstretched paw in protest, refusing to make eye contact with his friend.

"Come on, Finnick. You need to have this in your ear so we can talk to you." Nick waved the small box in front of Finnick's eyes. The attempted failed, causing the fennec to scowl at his friend with an intense, burning fury.

"I said no Nick," he yelled in an increasingly aggravated tone. This caused some of the nearby lab technicians to turn from their work and look on in curiosity. An officer passing by the open door to the room even poked his head in to study the severity of the situation.

"I draw the line at you making me put those damn contacts in my eyes. Speaking of which, someone better get me some more eyedrops before I absolutely lose it!"

"Finnick, please try to control yourself. You're the only other way that we could get another lead for this case, and I don't want Chief Bogo thinking you're unstable."

The small Fox turned in Judy's direction and frowned. As she stared into his eyes, she noticed how bloodshot they had become from the blue contact lenses in his eyes. Behind his cold stare, Judy saw not anger, but irritation. The small fox let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Nick and Judy remained silent as they let Finnick gather his composure.

"Someone just get me a cup of coffee and some contact solution… please."

The room remained silent and unmoving as everyone just stared at Finnick sitting on a stool in the center of the room.

"If you thought I was mad before, just wait till you see the Hellfire I'll unleash in a few seconds," he screamed.

One of the lab technicians quickly ran to a nearby counter and grabbed the bottle of saline solution. As the porcupine walked back in Finnick's direction, she asked another technician to run down to the break room and grab a cup of coffee. As she approached the disgruntled fox, she remained slightly hesitant at the thought of what damage he could do. Although the possibility of Finnick actually causing any physical harm was seemingly impossible, she still remained heedful.

"Alright Mr. Finnick, I need you to tilt your head back."

He obliged to her request, tilting his head back. She placed a few drops in each eye, causing Finnick to flinch as the initial pain soon gave way to relief.

"Is that any better," the technician asked while wiping a cloth under each of his eyes.

"That helps a lot actually. Thank you." Although Finnick no longer spoke with vexation, his tone wasn't close to pleasurable. Finnick rubbed a paw over one of his eyes, attempting to relieve the last of the lingering irritation.

"I'll just leave the bottle here with you. If you feel the need to use it again, go ahead. We have plenty of these." Turning from the fox, she walked back over to her co-workers. Oblivious to Finnick who was eyeing the approaching beaver with a cup of coffee, she began to gossip about the situation.

"I hope you don't mind if it's black. We're out of cream and sugar."

The small fox excitedly took it in his paws and gulped down a large sip. His tense facial muscles relaxed and his ears drooped down against the back of his head. As the drink began to work its way into his system, Finnick slowly began to revert to a state of tolerability.

"You said he could get cranky in the mornings, but I never pictured it would be like this," Judy whispered as she leaned in closely to Nick.

He returned her statement with a small chuckle. Crossing his arms over his chest to study his friends lightening mood, Nick felt a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He had not smiled all morning, so a small touch of happiness was long overdue.

"This actually isn't what I meant when I said he gets upset in the mornings. It's typically much worse than this. When we were younger, he would punch me if I woke him up too early. It never escalated to the point where it left permanent scars, but it certainly came close on more than one occasion."

Nick turned from his girlfriend to face Finnick. He inhaled the vapors wafting from his mug, causing his lips to form a subtle smile. Whether Finnick was keeping his eyes closed out of momentary bliss or from lingering contact irritation, Nick did not know.

"I guess he's just learning to control himself. Compared to where he was before his new job, he's bad tremendous strides."

Judy nodded in agreement as she watched Finnick. Although the mammal was not without his flaws, he had made impressive changes over the past few months.

"I just hope he understands that there was no way we could have pushed this back." Judy continued to stare at Finnick as she spoke. "That dye is going to take a couple of hours to fully set and dry into his fur. I know it's not ideal for him to be here at 4 in the morning, but there's really no other way we could have worked this out."

Nick cleared his throat obnoxiously, turning his eyes down in her direction.

"I know you don't like waking up this early either, but we have to do it half the week anyway for work. You should be used to it by now."

"Or maybe if you would stop buying that blueberry wine, I wouldn't be so tempted. You know that stuff puts me right out."

Nick stretched his arms out above his head and let out a yawn. Although the yawn wasn't fake, he exaggerated it to further his point.

"And maybe if you learned a little self-control, that wouldn't be a problem."

Nick gave her a playful scowl and rubbed a paw on the top of her head. He knew how much it aggravated her for any of her fur to be out of place, and it overjoyed him to mess it up.

"Alright Mr. Finnick, if you can please come over here, we'll start putting the dye into your fur."

The fox finished off the last few sips in his mug and rested it on top of the stool when he stood up. He stretched while heading in her direction.

"If you would please just place your clothes on that nearby table, we'll get right to work."

Finnick froze in his tracks as she spoke the last few words. He leaned down to Judy and whispered in her ear.

"Which one of us was supposed to tell him?"

Judy remained unmoving, eyes starring forward. After a few seconds of silent, she parted her lips and let out a quiet, "Oh shit…"

Finnick shook his head and gave the lab technician a questioning stare.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

The porcupine turned to Nick and Judy, searching for an answer to Finnick's unawareness of the situation. She was met with both of them shrugging their shoulders. She rolled her eyes and mouthed, "thanks."

"Since your friends failed to inform you before your arrival, I guess it falls on me. We need to apply the dye to all of your fur. And when I say all, I mean _all_ of it. Can you make any guesses as to what I mean by that?"

Everyone in the lab looked onward as Finnick stood in silence. The words stung deep, causing him to tremble in discomfort.

"Oh great, he's about to lose it…" Judy whispered under her breath, not intending the words for anyone in particular. As Nick waited for his friend to become ballistic, his mind raced with different images of Finnick screaming at the top of his lungs at the lab technicians. All scenarios that ran through his mind ended with Finnick being escorted out of the ZPD.

 _Please Finnick, don't let such a small thing have Bogo kick you off the case…_

Out the corner of his eye, he could see Judy showing her concern through her body language. Her ears had begun to droop, and she had gone into the bad habit of biting her bottom lip. As Finnick began to ball up his fists, Nick shook his head and held it down in his paws. He could not bare to see his friend destroy all the progress he had made. Suddenly, the small Fox uncurled his fists and let out of sigh. Nick and Judy both stared onward in curiosity.

"Fine," Finnick let out in a slightly aggravated tone. "I guess if it's required for me to do this, I have no choice."

He looked around at everyone in the lab who had all eyes focused on him. Although no one had reached for a restraining item, he could see on their faces that the thought had crossed a few of their minds.

"Can you at least put up a screen or curtain? If I'm going to be stripped down completely nude, I want some privacy. I have at least a shred of dignity left, and I intend to keep it intact."

The porcupine turned to her supervisor. For a moment, the warthog remained unmoving. He blinked his eyes and removed himself from any thoughts he had been in. He nodded, and the porcupine turned back in Finnick's direction.

"That can be arranged for you. Just give us a minute to go find one and get it set up."

She rested her clipboard down on a nearby table and followed a badger out of the room. With them out of the room, Finnick sat down in a nearby chair. He rested his head in his paw and stared blankly out into space. Like he had done many times before, he made his face expressionless.

Nick felt a small elbow poke him in the side. Looking down, he made eye contact with Judy. She motioned her head towards the smaller fox. Nick stared blankly at her, causing the bunny to roll her eyes and scowl. Even though Nick knew full well what she wanted him to do, he never missed an opportunity to screw with her.

"You should go say something to him. You know, try and at least provide a small amount of comfort," she whispered so that Finnick would not hear. The smaller fox remained unaware of their conversation as he continued to stare blankly into space.

Unable to conjure up a reasonable counter argument, Nick walked over to his friend and sat down on the floor. Even with his height reduced from sitting and his friend sitting much higher up in a chair, Nick was still able to be at eye level with Finnick. At first tempted to crack a joke about the situation, Nick bit his tongue and decided this wasn't the proper moment.

"You doing all right?"

Finnick turned his eyes to face Nick, at first returning the question with a slight cock of his head. This followed with him inhaling deeply and loudly blowing air from his nose.

"It's not exactly an ideal position to be in, but it could be worse." Finnick spoke with a laugh at the end of sentence to try and lighten the mood. His attempt went fruitless, but Nick did not feel the need to bring it up.

"You know if you're starting to have second thoughts about all this, now's the time to tell me. Once those lab technicians come back, there's no turning back. I don't want you to have the impression that I'm pressuring you into this. I want to make sure that this is all voluntary on your part."

This struck Finnick by surprise, causing him to stare out into blank space again. Although Nick could predict almost any action Finnick could unleash, he was not as accurate on predicting his thoughts. The one thing that Finnick was determined to keep to himself with his thinking process. Finnick refused to let anyone know how his mind operated.

"I'm sure. I don't want you to think that I'm doing this because you're guilt-tripping me into this. I'm doing this because there's other mammals in need of my help. I made a promise to myself that I needed to not be so self-centered and look outside of my own personal bubble."

Finnick paused as the technicians returned to the room with a collapsible curtain under their arms. They pulled the collapsible poles and began to assemble the frame.

"But I'm also doing this because you're my friend. Although you've had your fair share of pissing me off, you've helped me through more situations than I can count. I would do anything to help you. I owe you my life and so much more."

Finnick stopped and turned his head to see the technicians finishing setting up the screen. With a final smile to his friend, he stood up disappeared behind it. Nick sat on the floor in silence for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. Judy stood still in her place, letting Nick recompose himself on his own. If he wanted to discuss anything with her, then he would come talk to her. But for now, she left alone.

 _You better not take too long to think about that discussion. Sometimes I worry that you think too much for your own good, Nick._

Before Nick could give himself a chance to over analyze the situation, he stood up and walked back over to Judy. The entire walk back, he kept his head turned back to the screen. He could faintly hear the technicians give Finnick instructions.

"Everything all right there?"

Nick stood still for a few seconds before pulling himself from his thoughts.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."

Judy scrunched up her nose and smirked. She knew Nick wanted to talk later, but Judy knew he _needed_ to talk now.

"Just make sure you don't overthink it. You know how you-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I think too much for my own good. Trust me, Carrots, I'm fine. If there was anything bothering me I would tell you, believe me."

Judy placed her paws on her hips and impatiently taped a foot on the ground.

"Oh come on," Nick let out with a laugh. "When have I ever kept something secret from you?"

Judy crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. The tapping of her foot increased with every second that Nick left her hanging on.

"You know what, for the betterment of this situation, don't answer that…"

They both turned as the sound of a small air pump filled the lab. It was soon followed by the sound of a liquid shooting out of a nozzle. While one technician remained behind the curtain to operate the spray gun, two of them exited with clipboards clenched in paw. As they passed by Judy, she overheard one of them speaking to the other. Although she failed to catch the entirety of the conversation, she managed to hear something along the lines of:

"…If I didn't have a boyfriend…"

and

"…one piece of hot fur…"

Judy regretfully pictured the image in her head, causing her entire body to shiver. As the lab technicians continued to walk away and their conversation turned phallic, Judy looked back up at Nick. He was staring over at the curtain, his eyes unblinking and completely motionless. Judy searched for any facial expression to give a glimpse at his inner thoughts but found nothing. Whatever Nick had on his mind, Judy knew there was a strong possibility he would never tell her what it was. Nick didn't seem troubled or irritated, just concentrated. Judy at least knew he was not trying to solve a problem, but simply dwelling somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind. Judy left him alone as she continued to stare at the curtain where the humming of the air compressor droned on.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	10. Childhood's End

**Chapter 10: Childhood's End**

"Here's to your first day being able to drink," Finnick blurted out as he took a large swig from a beer bottle. Nick took a sip from his bottle as well, wiping the foam that remained on his lip with the back of his paw.

"Well to be fair, I've been drinking for quite a while. This is just the first time that I can do it legally."

Finnick scowled and rolled his eyes. Turning back to face the sunset, he took another sip from his bottle and remained silent. The two of them sat on the rooftop of some random apartment building. Finnick had found a fire escape around the back of the building, and invited Nick up on the roof to celebrate his birthday. Neither of them had much money at the time, so a few beers seemed like royal treatment.

"So what did you and your mom do today," Finnick asked as he stared out towards the sunset.

"Well I used any cash I had to take her out to launch. I don't really care if it was my birthday. She's treated me well in life, that I had to find some way to pay her back. A gentleman never lets his mother pay for a meal."

Finnick chuckled as he drained his first bottle and tossed it behind them. The glass bottle clinked along until it found a place to rest somewhere on the gravel rooftop.

"You sound like one of those preppy mammals from the private school in Tundra Town."

"That, or you just don't have any manners and aren't used to hearing about them."

Finnick popped the cap off his next bottle and flicked it over the edge of the roof.

"I paid for these and I can sure as hell take them back."

Nick held up a paw in an exaggerated show of defeat.

"All right, all right, I promise I'll stop."

"So did you only go out to lunch?

"No. Afterwards we went to this ice cream shop in the city center. It was run by this ornery elephant, but he did serve us after my mom had a good talk with him."

Nick took another sip from his bottle and starred out over the darkening city.

"What baffled me about it all is that the serving sizes were probably twenty times larger than what we get here, but they were only double the price. I'm surprised that no one's come up with something to try and resell the ice cream."

"Yeah you're right. That would make a lot of money."

Nick paused and held his bottle halfway up to his mouth. Finnick caught sight of this and turned to his friend.

"You alright?"

"Ye-, yeah, I just had an idea for a second."

Finnick rolled his eyes again and took another sip from his bottle.

"Hopefully this is better than the last scam that you came up with."

"Oh don't worry," Nick chuckled. "I think this one will turn out better than the others."

The two sat next to each other on the edge of roof, slowly depleting their arsenal of booze. When the case was finally empty, they had both grown sluggish. Nick was able to form rational thoughts and speak without stuttering. Finnick, however, was barely able to stand up. While Nick gathered their trash to drop off in an alley dumpster, Finnick stumbled around. He tossed from side to side, mumbling the lyrics to a song he had pulled from the deep recesses of his mind.

"You sure you're alright there, buddy," Nick called out as he picked up the box of trash. Finnick responded with a lopsided grin and a thumbs-up.

"And here you are saying you can handle your liquor. You're so full of shit."

Nick approached the edge of the roof overlooking an alley. Peering over, he lined up the box with an open dumpster. With a few final adjustments, he let it slip from his paws. The box plummeted straight down before landing in the center of the dumpster. The impact caused a muffled sound to echo back up to Nick as it contacted a pile of garbage bags.

"Bullseye…"

Dusting his paws off on his jeans, Nick walked back in the direction of his friend. Finnick was still dancing around the rooftop in a drunken daze. His black and red stripe polo shirt hung unbuttoned, revealing his chest which had become matted with drool.

"Alright buddy, come on. We should start heading back to our apartment. It's getting late, and there's some stuff I want to talk about tomorrow."

Finnick ceased his motion, turning to face Nick. He stood silent for a few seconds before falling forward. He landed with his paws outstretched to break his fall. With a final few mumbles, Finnick turned on his back and stared up at the sky.

"The stars… l-look… so… _pretty_ …"

Nick let out a sigh and scratched behind one of his ears.

"I guess this means I'm carrying you home again."

Finnick responded with some jumbled words as his eyes struggled to stay open. Nick rolled his eyes and scooped up the smaller fox in his arms. No matter how many times he carried his friend home, Nick never found it any easier. For such a small mammal, Finnick's weight always appeared to be heavier than normal.

"You owe me for this… again…"

After descending the fire escape with Finnick slung over his shoulder, Nick began walking towards the bus stop. The streets were almost empty save for the occasional passing mammal. Having carried Finnick home on multiple occasions, Nick had gotten used to the questioning stares he would receive from others walking past. Nick always responded with his signature smirk and an eye wink.

As they rounded a corner, Nick's attention diverted to a post covered in flyers. The papers ranged from guitar lessons to inquiries of more than questionable services. However, Nick's ears perked as he came across an advertisement for a used van. Nick plucked the page off and read it as he continued to walk.

"This wouldn't be such a bad deal if it didn't have that mural painted on the side."

Tempted to toss it out as they neared a trashcan, Nick instead wadded it up and slipped it in a pocket. Finnick had been talking about almost having enough money to buy his own vehicle, and the van seemed to be the only option in his price range.

Nick finally reached the bus stop and rested Finnick down on the bench. He had fallen asleep before Nick reached the bottom of the fire escape. Finnick slept heavily, making it nearly impossible for him to be woken up.

"You're so damn lucky you have me as a friend."

When the bus finally arrived, Nick carried Finnick on with the smaller fox snoring loudly. The bus driver cast a glance of confusion in their direction before shaking his head and tossing any ideas out. Nick carried his friend to the back of empty bus, placing him down in a seat by the window. He handled Finnick carefully, resting his head gently against the smudged glass. As the bus moved forward to its next stop, Nick collapsed into his seat and reclined his head back. Turning to the side, he looked down at Finnick who had now curled up in the seat.

He sat with his knees up against his stomach, and his arms crossed tightly over his chest. His mouth had fallen open, causing his breath to create a small patch of fog on the window. Nick sat in silent observance of his friend as the bus carried them home. As they continued towards their destination, Nick found his eyes becoming more and more difficult to keep open. Finally giving up the fight, Nick let the gentle grasp of sleep overtake him. The two sleeping foxes traveled home, waiting for a new day to bring new changes to their lives.

Nick blinked his eyes, pulling himself from his thoughts. Instead of seeing his drunk friend asleep on a bus, he saw Finnick sitting by his side staring out the window. The small fox no longer had sand colored fur, but had been dyed a light shade of beige. Although Nick had taken Finnick out in his elephant suit multiple times, he found his friend's new outfit a little strange. The department had given Finnick a navy blue onesie printed in silver stars. Although Nick had wanted to pull the elephant suit out of retirement, Bogo insisted otherwise considering Finnick had worn it in public many other times.

Seeing his friend in a different fur color and new toddler's clothes still had not settled with Nick. He no longer recognized one of the most important mammals in his life. Even after only a couple of hours, Nick already missed the old image of Finnick he had known for so long.

"Are you alright, Nick?"

He turned to his side, Judy staring up at him from her seat. The ZPD van they had piled into shook at the slightest road imperfection, causing Judy's small frame to bounce.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just still thinking."

Judy placed a paw on Nick's leg and gave him a worried look. Nick let out a soft chuckle before placing his own paw over hers.

"Trust me, Carrots, this isn't something that's going to affect how I work. If it was, I would talk to you about it."

Judy took solace in his words as he squeezed her paw tightly. Leaning down, Nick gave her a quick kiss. Considering that they had agreed to not kiss at work, Judy knew Nick was trying to make his point come clear across to her. Breaking the bond of their lips, Nick passed his fingers over the soft fur of her cheek.

"If this evolves into something, I'll talk to you about it. You have my word."

Judy smiled and nodded. Nick turned to face back out the window of the van as trees began to come into view. The van entered the park, taking a back road that led to the maintenance buildings. The trees passing by the windows casts shadows inside, causing brief moments of darkness as the early morning sun was covered. Nick continued to stare out the window, occasionally glancing down at Finnick. During the entirety of the journey, Finnick had remained silent. Although Nick had been tempted to speak up, he left his friend alone. He wiped a tear from his eye as he watched the small fox sit in silence. Finnick continued to look out the window as they approached the predetermined drop off point. The only noise in the cab was the gentle hum of the engine. Everyone remained quiet as the time for a turning point in the case approached.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	11. The House, The Street, The Room

This chapter uses the song "Tumbling Dice" by The Rolling Stones

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The House, The Street, The Room**

Finnick sat in the sandbox, his paws fast at work scooping sand into a bucket. A cheetah cub sat opposite him, also shoveling sand into a bucket. The cub's mom sat on the bench watching the two of them play. A female fennec fox sat beside her. Finnick had been introduced to his 'mom' when they entered the park. She had had her fur dyed to match his, and memorized every detail of Finnick's new identity.

The cheetah cub filled his bucket and rested the shovel down in the sand. He grabbed the thin plastic handle and quickly flipped it over. It plopped down into the sand and tapped the sides with the pads of his paws. Slowly and carefully, he lifted it up to reveal a perfect sand castle. The small cub clapped his hands together with joy and looked over to his mother for her approval. She gave him a smile and a thumbs up.

"It looks great, Max!"

After receiving approval from his mother, he started shoveling more sand into his bucket to make another one. Finnick finished filling his and flipped it over. He lifted the bucket up, only to have a portion of the top of the sandcastle topple over. Being a full-grown adult, he typically would have shrugged it off. He reminded himself to play the part, and fake the look of severe disappointment. He looked over to his fake mother, acting extremely upset. Although he was unable to produce fake tears, he had been making a look of heartbreak for years. All of the cons with Nick over the years had actually payed off somewhere.

"Just make sure to pack the sand tighter next time. I know you can do it!"

She smiled, and Finnick did the same before returning to shoveling sand into his bucket. His mother went back to talking to the cheetah that sat beside her. As Finnick put more sand in, he quickly glanced at the top of a building across the street. On the roof, he could faintly make out the outline of Nick and Judy.

Nick pulled the pair of binoculars down from his eyes. Rubbing the bridge of his nose with the pads of his paw, he handed them over to Judy. She took them, and gave Nick a questioning look.

"I didn't realize how screwed up your vision could get using these things for long periods of time."

Judy chuckled and placed the binoculars up to her eyes. She adjusted the knob on top until Finnick came into focus. While Nick looked out over different areas of the park, she watched the small fennec playing in the sandbox. He flipped a bucket over, lifting it up to reveal a perfect sandcastle. He threw his paws up in joy, and his assigned mother applauded. Judy had no idea if Finnick was actually proud of himself for making something as simple as a sandcastle, but she had to admit that he was playing the part well.

"So, did he finally figure out how to pack dirt into a box," Nick asked as he put a piece of gum into his mouth.

Judy glared over to him and rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so condescending to him. You know he has to pretend like that. It's only part of the role we gave him."

Nick blew a bubble and flipped his sunglasses down. Judy always found Nick in his sunglasses to be overwhelmingly sexy, but she couldn't let her pleasures get in the way of making a point.

"I don't know, Carrots. You haven't known him for as long as I have. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if he really had trouble with such a simple task."

"How can anyone put up with such an ass like you?"

"Well, Carrots, you seem to do a pretty good job of doing that on a daily basis. You should have a good answer to that question."

Judy ignored Nick's comment and went back to observing Finnick. As the small fox finished another sandcastle, he looked to Officer Richards for her approval. She clapped for him, and Finnick started to place small pebbles around the base of the sand building. Across from him, the cheetah cub ate something from the sandbox, This prompted his mother to race to him and force him to spit it out.

When Nick and Judy had first approached Officer Richards about being Finnick's mother, she was reluctant. She had suggested having a larger officer play the part, considering she was a few inches shorter than Judy. Although foxes being adopted by larger animals was not an impossibility, it was still a very rare occurrence. Nick eventually persuaded her that it would be more convincing if she played his mother. Since there were no other fennecs in the ZPD or any other police department within fifty miles, she was left with no other option.

"Is he still playing in that nasty sandbox," Nick asked as he opened a container blueberries.

"Yup. At least he seems to be entertained. I know it's not the first thing that comes to an adult's mind for fun, but it could be worse. He could be up here having to put up with you."

Judy was proud of herself for that remark. As much as she tried to hide it, she could not help the smile from pulling at the corners of her lips. Nick tried to play it cool by ignoring the remark. He reached down into his bookbag and pulled out a container of blueberries.

"You do realize that the average sandbox is only seventy-five percent sand? The rest is dirt, fecal matter and other unspeakable things."

Judy snickered and lowered the binoculars from her eyes. She grabbed a few blueberries from the container in Nick's paw and popped them in her mouth. He had made sure to buy the ones imported from Bunny Burrow. Although they were not the ones from the Hopps Farm, they still were better than any others sold in the city.

"You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Why do you sound surprised?" Nick couldn't help but laugh.

Judy scrunched her nose and flicked a blueberry at his snout. She managed to make a perfect shot, causing it to bounce right off the center of his nose and over the edge of the building.

"Because no matter what kind of situation we're in, you always make up something just to mess with me. I honestly don't know when to believe you sometimes," Judy said as a smile crossed her lips.

Nick chuckled, tossing a few more blueberries into his mouth. He outstretched his free paw, tapping her on the nose with the pad of his finger.

"All right, you do have a point there. But that still doesn't forgive your behavior."

Judy cocked an eyebrow and gave Nick a questioning look.

"Oh really? And just what exactly have I done that doesn't deserve the forgiveness of the almighty Nick?"

As Judy said the last few words, she threw her paws up in the air and pretended to praise some unknown power above.

"You know, I can do without the sass. It was bad enough that you wasted that blueberry. It was a perfectly good waste."

" _That's_ what you meant when you were talking about my behavior?"

Nick nodded as he finished off the container of blueberries and tossed it to the ground. He stomped on the empty carton, causing the plastic to crack and crinkle. As he swallowed the last of them, Judy hopped up and landed a hard punch on his shoulder.

"Hey," Nick let out as he grabbed the attacked area, "that seems to be a bit uncalled for."

"That's what you get for eating the last of the blueberries and not offering me one of them."

Judy placed the binoculars back up to her eyes. She continued her observation of Finnick, and Nick observed the streets below. From their great height, he could barely make out a mother and her cub stopping on the sidewalk. The cub reached down and grabbed something up off the ground before placing it is mouth. The mother quickly grabbed his arm and yelled something that Nick could not hear. He could only assume that the cub found the blueberry that made its way down from the roof.

Finnick watched as Max slid down the slide and into his mom's open arms at the bottom. As she caught him, he erupted into laughter. The mother tickled the cub's stomach, and Finnick watched in horror as he hoped his mother didn't do the same. Officer Richards stood at the bottom and motioned for Finnick to come down. He pretended to act scared and hesitated to move. She responded by begging for him to come down and giving him a warm, welcoming smile. After giving his hesitation a few more seconds to make a persuasive impression on Max and his mother, Finnick slid down into her arms.

"There you go, sweetie! That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Finnick shook his head and giggled. He had been taking lessons from a voice coach for about a week to learn how to make his voice sound higher. It was quite a struggle to break him of his deep voice, but he eventually succeeded.

Officer Richards followed Max and his mom back to the bench where they had been sitting. As they sat down, they each put their child sitting down next to them. Max brought his legs up onto the bench and curled up to take a nap. The cheetah let out a high-pitched yawn and wrapped his tail tightly around his body. His mother ran a paw down her son's back, causing a smile to form on the cub's face.

"It looks like someone is ready for his afternoon nap," Max's mother said as she gathered the cub in her arms and lifted her purse from the bench. She slung it over her shoulder, and propped Max on the other so his head was nestled in the crook of her neck.

"I hope you two don't mind, but I think it's best if we go home. Max tends to get cranky if he doesn't get his nap in the afternoons. Is it safe to assume that you'll both be here around the same time tomorrow?"

"Unless something happens, I don't see why not. Seems like no matter what, Tyler loves coming here whenever he's not in preschool."

Officer Richards motioned down towards Finnick who had occupied himself by playing with a tube of lipstick from her purse. He grabbed tube in his paw, and applied pressure until it squeezed out from between his knuckles. This caused a high-pitched squeal to escape from his throat.

"Tyler, I've told you multiple times not to play with mommy's makeup. You don't want me to give you a spanking in public, now do you?"

Finnick cringed at the thought that two adults were having this conversation. Although Max and his mother viewed the conversation as one only between a mother and her kit, Finnick new the real situation. He nodded and gave her a look of sadness. Like he had done multiple times with Nick, he made his eyes look big and glassy as he did his best to soften her up.

"Promise me that you won't do that again. Tonight, you won't have dessert after dinner, but do it again, and you won't have it for a week."

 _We both know that's not something you can control. I'm a fucking adult._

Although Finnick was tempted to tell that to Officer Richards as a joke, he knew it would not end well. Max and his mother would be terrified not just by the language, but the fact that Finnick was older than the fox pretending to be his mother.

"Aw, we both know I can't be mean to a face like that."

She reached down and pinched his cheek, shaking it a little bit. Finnick wanted to reach out and smack her paw away, but was once again limited by his role.

With a final goodbye, Max and his mother left, leaving Finnick and Officer Richards sitting alone on the bench. Once they were fully out of sight, she reached down and patted the top of his head.

"Well, I guess we'll repeat all of this again tomorrow. I don't know about you, but this is starting to take a toll on me. I don't know how much longer I can take being out here constantly."

Finnick chuckled as leaned his head against her arm. Just because his friend had left did not mean that he could break character yet. He made sure to keep his voice down so no one else was able to hear their conversation.

"At least you can have a drink when you want. Do you know how badly I want one? No offense to Max, he's a sweet cub, but it's torturous being with someone all day who can't use words longer than seven letters."

Officer Richards laughed as she picked up Finnick and her purse. She rested his head on her shoulder so they could continue to carry on their conversation.

"Well you'll be able to get wasted off your ass soon enough. We should be back to the apartment in less than fifteen minutes. Just go ahead and enjoy yourself until then."

"You think I enjoy having to act like a kit all day?"

"You think I enjoy having to carry a kit back home?"

Finnick let out a quiet laugh so only she could here. As they exited the park, he glanced up to the building. He watched as Nick and Judy packed up and prepared themselves to do it all over again.

* * *

Finnick sat facing the window of his new apartment. Although the accommodations were only temporary, he was happy to not be living in a van. Chief Bogo had insisted to he stay somewhere he could be watched during the course of the ordeal. They had rented him an apartment in City Central about five blocks from the park. Although he was forced to spend the day with Officer Richards, she had her own separate temporary apartment. Nick had made it clear that the two of them should be seen entering and leaving the same building together.

So there Finnick sat, in his own apartment for the next couple of weeks, or however long it took to complete his task. He had a glass of Jack in one paw, the other dangling over the armrest of his chair. As the headlights of passing cars below scattered past his window, Finnick remained silent. He had grown fond of these few moments of silence he had. Before Nick and Judy had started preparing him for his role, he spent most of the day at work and any spare time either doing overtime or trying to get a decent amount of sleep. It was rare that Finnick had any time to spend on self-evaluation. If any opportunity were to arise, he would gladly take it.

As he finished off the Jack in his glass, he swirled the ice around in the bottom of the glass. He tossed a cube in his mouth and crunched down on it. He couldn't feel a warm fuzziness in his body yet, so he took that as a sign to refill his glass. The fox stood up from his chair and walked over to the liquor cabinet on the other side of the living room.

As reluctant as Chief Bogo was, Nick had convinced the water buffalo to supply Finnick with some spirits during his stay. Finnick had sent his friend a text when he saw the bottles, to which Nick replied that he told Bogo he didn't want to see the fennec without his booze. Finnick had chuckled at the thought of Nick painting him as a mild alcoholic with a short temper to get him booze. Finnick would have had no problem getting some on his own, but he appreciated Nick's effort. Nick could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he always managed to come through for his friends.

Finnick unscrewed the cap on the Jack bottle and poured some more of the caramel-colored liquid into his glass. As he placed a few more ice cubes in the glass, his eyes darted to the pile of CDs on a nearby table. Nick had retrieved a few of Finnick's belongings from his van and dropped them off the other day. Included in the small piles of clothes he kept in the back of his van was a plastic bag of old CDs he had forgotten about until now. He reached out and picked up the CD on top of the pile. A smile crossed his face and he looked over the album art through the scratched and smudged plastic case.

Nick had bought it for him when he first got his van. The two of them had listened to the record multiply times in the living room of Nick's house until they managed to wear the grooves out. Finnick could swear that even after not listening to this album for a few years, he could still perfectly recite the lyrics to all eighteen songs. He opened the tray of the player underneath the television and turned the volume up. Pressing the skip button multiple times, he let out a small chuckle when the seventh track appeared on the selection screen.

 **Begin "Tumbling Dice"**

The notes peeling off an electric guitar brought a warmth to Finnick's heart that he hadn't felt in quite some time. Although Nick had always loved playing the chords on his beat-up guitar, Finnick found himself most attracted to the piano and organ in the background. It had been more than twenty years since he last saw it, but Finnick still remembered playing along with a keyboard Nick gave him for Christmas one year. It wasn't an extraordinary model, but Finnick did not care. He played that thing till the black paint began to peel from the plastic keys and the white parts turned yellow.

It had long since been thrown away. With time, many of the keys stopped working, and the battery compartment corroded. By the time Finnick had thrown it away, he could not afford to buy a replacement. Any spare money he had went to some scheme Nick had concocted. Although he had become good at playing, Finnick was unsure if he could still play basic chords and scales after so many years. Perhaps when he was done with this whole ordeal, he could finally afford to buy another one. It was very likely he would have to learn a lot of the playing over again, but he knew it would be worth it.

He took a long sip from his glass and walked back towards the window. That warm feeling was finally making its way through his system. Placing one paw on the window, he leaned forward to look a few stories down to the sidewalk. Two wolves walked underneath the streetlights, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. Finnick took another large sip as he followed them with his eyes. They stopped suddenly, one of them pointing to a shop window out of Finnick's view. Although Finnick could barely remember what the area below looked like, he knew there was a jewelry store on this side of the street. It was safe to assume that's what they were stopping to look at.

One of them talked for a few moments before jumping up and giving the other a hug. Finnick sipped from his glass again and rolled his eyes at the male for having to shovel out a ton of money for a necklace. Suddenly, the female kissed her boyfriend and locked her arms around his waist. Finnick stopped drinking and let the glass slowly pull away from his lips. This was unlike the many times he'd seen two mammals kiss in public. Typically, it was sloppy and seemed to lack any true sense of meaning. This had an intense passion that he noticed many mammals lacked. Just as soon as they had joined lips, the two separated and continued on their way. Finnick was left staring out the window, his eyes still trained on the spot where they once stood. His mind was deep in thought about what he had just seen.

He had always wanted that kind of love for himself, but could never find anyone he felt right with. Finnick had not thought about this for years, and now it came full force upon him. Perhaps after all this was said and done he would, he could find someone to be happy with. It would be difficult, but Nick would always tell him growing up that somewhere there is a someone for everyone. Finnick was pretty sure that Nick stole that from some old album, but he did not care. They were good words to live by. Finnick finished off the contents of his glass, his gaze still pointed out the window.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	12. Isn't It Quiet and Cold?

**Chapter 12: Isn't It Quiet and Cold?**

Crouching in front of a door with peeling paint, Ash kept himself quiet. So much as a heavy breath ran him the risk of being heard from the other side of the door. He feared being caught, but considered it a reasonable risk at this point. The musty room he had been locked in for God knows how many days had finally gotten to him. No longer could he stand falling asleep to the buzzing and flickering of the sickly yellow light overhead. This prison was no longer going to confine him.

With a final few jabs of the thin screwdriver, the lion cub heard the last few pins of the door lock pop into place. He twisted the allen wrench and felt the deadbolt begin to slide. Making sure to keep quiet as possible, he twisted the wrench until the lock fully retracted. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowly wrapped his paw around the door handle. The cold metal underneath his fur slowly turned, letting out a small squeak as it moved. He stopped turning the handle and pressed an ear against the door. The music emitting from down the hall continued to play, and he could not hear any footsteps approaching.

Ash turned the handle once again. When it ceased movement, the door opened slightly as a draft forced it. He let the door swing open slowly until there was a large enough gap for him to fit through. As the cub stepped outside, he felt the chill of the air make its way underneath his fur. Typically, Ash hated the cold, but he welcomed it now. The room had no air conditioning, leaving it hot and miserable, more often than not. This led to countless occasions of him waking up sweaty and stuck to the filthy bedspread.

For a brief moment, he paused and lifted his nose in the air to smell the fresh air. Even though the bitter cold began to sting the inside of his nostrils, he did not care. Breathing in air that did not smell of mold and decay was a small blessing, but a blessing none the less. After quickly savoring the moment, Ash turned on his heels and silently crept down the long hallway. The entire right side was covered in doors to other rooms, while the left side was open and exposed to the outside. He had no idea what this building used to be, but it was something to think about another time.

Nearing the end of the hallway, Ash pressed his back against the wall. He stood in silence for a moment and listened. Since he had gotten closer, the music he could hear had grown louder. Turning his head around the corner, he could see the room all of the animals in this complex dreaded.

The door to the suite was open, and the large mammal who he had grown to be deathly afraid of sat with his back to the doorway. The beast wore a dark trench coat and a large brimmed hat. Every time he opened the door to Ash's room, his face was completely hidden in shadow and an unending darkness. All though a burning rage at this creature for the atrocities he had committed burned inside the cub, it was dwarfed by the immense fear of what he did.

Ash shook his head and forced the thoughts to the back of his mind for the moment. The beast had stood up, and was walking towards the door. On his way out, he switched off the music and picked up a filthy rag from the table. It had been stained with dirt and grime from years of abuse. Ash could have sworn that some of the brownish spots on the rag looked like his clothes when he scrapped his knee and the blood dried on them.

The beast lumbered with heavy and booming footsteps down the hall in Ash's direction. His first instinct was to panic, but he soon came to grasp the situation. Turning to the left, he quickly hopped onto the railing and peered over the side. He was met with the sight of a two story drop to the ground below. Not seeing any other choice but capture, Ash swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly lowered himself over the edge. He let go with one paw and let the other hang him down a bit further. Suddenly, the feeling of a cold maintenance pipe greeted the pads of his feet. He let his fingers release from the ledge. As soon as he did so, he pressed his back against the railing. While keeping his balance as close to the railing as possible, he shifted towards a column.

Just as he slide behind the column and obscured himself from view, he heard the footsteps turn the corner. As they drew closer, Ash could swear he felt the stucco of the column against his back shake. They grew closer, then even with him, and then pass. He crept to the edge of the column and turned to regain view of the hallway.

The beast had passed Ash and was now four doors down. His prayers had been answered that the beast had not chosen his door tonight. It pulled a ring of keys from a coat pocket and shuffled through them. After a few moments of metal gangling, it slid the key into the lock and turned it open with a groan. As the door opened, the sickly yellow lighting flooded out and illuminated the hallway.

"What the hell is this?!"

He spoke with a booming and scratchy voice. The beast stormed into the room, slamming the door into the wall in the process. Ash could hear the sound of the door knob breaking through the deteriorating sheetrock. As he watched in horror, the beast crouched down over the bed in the corner of the room. When he straightened back up and turned, Ash could make out the shape of a doll in his paw. The small toy was soon thrown out the doorway, where it skidded to a halt on the cracked concrete floor. It had been crafted together from scraps. Although most young mammals in Zootopia would turn their nose up at such a crude toy, Ash felt his heart break. The smiling face that had been drawn on with what must have been an old pen, stared at Ash from the floor. This doll had been the only object of comfort for whoever was in that room. The last shred of hope that helped keep their sanity was now gone.

As the door to the room slammed shut, Ash walked along the pipe back to the railing and climbed over. Turning one more time to make sure the door had been fully closed, Ash ran to the end of the hallway. He came around the corner and found the door to the suite still wide open. Breathing a sigh of relief, he ran inside. Like his room, it stunk of mustiness and neglect. He did his best to ignore the smell and began searching.

"There has to be one somewhere…" he whispered to himself as he jumped onto a couch.

Now having a higher vantage point, Ash was able to see the tops of all furniture in the room. His gaze panned over everything until it stopped on a desk in the far corner of the room. There, on the worn and splintered surface, lay a telephone. Ash felt his spirits rise at the site of communication to the outside world. He jumped down from the couch and hurried to the desk. Although his height surely was not anything to brag about, he was still able to stand on the tips of his toes and reach on top. When he felt his fingers curl around the base of the phone, he pulled.

The device came falling down quicker than Ash had anticipated. It crashed on top of his head and then made a muffled bang as it made contact with the dusty carpet of the floor. Ash quickly righted the device and placed the receiver back on the base. Making sure none of the wires had been pulled loose, he lifted a finger and began to dial 9-1-1.

"Who the FUCK isn't in their room?!"

The voice of the beast came roaring down the hallway where it bounced around the room like some hellish echo chamber. Ash felt his blood run cold, and his fur stood on end. He soon found himself unable to move as fear flooded his brain and cut off any ability to move. Even as the booming footsteps came closer and closer to the suite, Ash continued to sit on the carpet with the receiver of the phone gripped tightly in his small paw. The footsteps became louder, now almost booming in his ears. The beast finally stormed through the doorway. He looked around before his gaze landed on Ash.

"YOU," it screamed as it raised a large paw and pointed a finger at the cub.

Lunging at him, Ash finally snapped out of his state of paralysis. As two large paws became ready to engulf his small form, Ash jumped to his feet and sprang forward. He opened his mouth and bit down as hard as he could. His small but sharp teeth easily broke the skin of the beast's paw. Ash could feel the warm stream of blood gushing from the paw as it poured into his mouth. The taste of metal overwhelmed his taste buds, and he could feel the blood beginning to soak into the fur under his chin.

The beast flung his arm to one side, causing Ash to fly across the room. He slammed into a wall and immediately dropped to the floor like a rock. The wind had been knocked from his lungs upon impact, and he took a few seconds to recover. Before taking in a deep breath, Ash spit out the small chunk of flesh he tore from the beast's hand when he went flying across the room. As he stood up and made his way towards the door, he noticed the beast hunched over with his paw pressed tightly against his stomach. Ash took this opportunity and ran.

Sprinting out of the suite, the cub ran with all his might towards the railing. Reaching it, he once again climbed on top and peered over the side to the ground below. The wind had picked up, and now howled into the endless dark of the night sky. Ash shook with fear as the ground seemed to be growing further and further away.

Suddenly, he heard a scream erupt from behind him. The beast had now wrapped his injured paw in the filthy rag he carried into every room of the complex. As he pulled the knot tightly, blood stained the surface and began to spread all over it like a disease. The beast stood up and began to run full speed in Ash's direction. From within the shadow cast by his hat, Ash could now see yellow eyes glowing brightly with rage and fury. Whatever evil hid behind those eyes, Ash knew he did not want to experience.

He turned to the ground once more and took a deep breath. No matter what outcome awaited him at the end of that fall, he knew it would be better than staying where he was. No cub, or any mammal for that matter, should ever need to make such a decision, but Ash knew it was the only way out. Even if this jump meant the end of his life, he knew it would be better than whatever awaited him in the arms of his captor.

Taking one last breath, Ash enjoyed the sensation of cool air on his face one final time and jumped.

* * *

"Alright, fine. I guess _I'll_ go next since you can't work up the courage."

Judy gave Nick a small punch on the arm. She did so with a smile.

"I don't see why I should have to take two turns in a row. We learned in kindergarten how to take turns, but I guess you forgot," Nick said as he took another sip from his cup.

"Well, since _someone_ decided to finish off the trail mix without offering me any, I feel it's justified for you to take two turns in a row. I'm starving, and we're going to be on duty for at least one more hour."

Nick cocked an eyebrow and gave Judy a playful smile. He reached down to the floor and retrieved the now empty trail mix bag.

"If you wanted any, then you should have asked."

"Or maybe you should've been a gentleman and offered me some to begin with."

Nick chuckled as he patted the top of Judy's head with his paw. He knew that she hated it, but he knew seeing that small amount of aggravation on her face was worth it.

"Alright, Carrots, let's make a little deal. If you go next, then I'll give you this entire thing."

Nick reached down between his seat and the door, retrieving a second bag. Judy immediately jumped in her seat and extended an arm in an attempt to grab the bag.

"I'll give it to you if you agree, Carrots. Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever!"

At the utterance of her last word, Nick dropped the bag down within her reach. Her small paws grabbed hold of it and ripped the bag from his paw. Judy tore the bag open and began to engulf its contents.

"My, my, someone has quite the appetite."

Judy threw him a glare, her cheeks full of food. When he did not reply to her gaze, she returned to stuffing herself.

"What the hell did you expect from me? You're the one who refused to stop for some dinner before we came out on patrol."

"First off, most mammals would consider it rude to talk with food in their mouth. Like I said before we left the apartment, there was no way that Jagger's would let us carry out. Even though we eat there at least once a week, it's still against their policy."

Judy tilted the bag in the air and emptied any crumbs left in the bottom of the bag into her mouth.

"Who said anything about a sit-down restaurant," Judy asked with full cheeks. "We could easily have picked up some fast food."

Nick shuttered at the thought of eating another meal from a drive-through window. Just the image of a white paper bag with the bottom about to split open from being soaked with grease made him cringe. They had done so three times already this week, and Nick's stomach probably couldn't handle any more of the foul meals.

"After we get off, I'll cook us a good meal when we get home. Does that sound good with you?"

"Only if I get to pick the wine."

Nick smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on Judy. He was denied when she lifted a finger and blocked the path of his pursed lips.

"You can get some of this after you cook dinner."

Nick smiled, not truly upset at his defeated attempt.

"As we agreed, you go next. So, who was the youngest in your family?"

Judy paused for a second, starring out the windshield. After a few brief moments of silence, she spoke.

"Well, the youngest I remember was my brother, Greg. If you thought it was bad that Finnick lost his virginity at sixteen, then you better prepare yourself."

Nick leaned over the center console, over-exaggerating his curiosity to Judy's answer. He knew it got to her, and just loved it.

"Please do tell, Officer Hopps."

"Ten."

The insides of Nick's ears went red as they lay flat against the back of his head. The thought of such a young bunny committing a sexual act sent a shiver down his spine.

"You're kidding me? Can a mammal that young even get hard? How the hell did your parents even find out about it?"

"I have hundreds of siblings. No matter how far into our property you went, there was always someone within earshot. Apparently, they were doing it out in the middle of the corn rows. I was only nine at the time, but I remember it pretty well. It was the first time I saw my parents get truly angry, my dad especially."

Nick took a sip from his cup and wiped the residue from his lip with the back of his paw. Finding his burnt orange fur stained, he wiped it off on his uniform. In his mind, no one would notice a stain on a dark blue uniform.

"I honestly can't even picture your dad being slightly upset. He just seems like such a loveable guy."

Judy snickered.

"Well believe me, he can really get angry. It's extremely rare that he does, but when it does happen, you don't want to be within a ten mile radius. He gets tense and his eyes go wide. Typically, he'll ball of up his paws into tiny fists and grind his teeth. He thinks it's intimidating, but it's honestly hilarious."

Nick soon found himself struggling not to laugh as he pictured Judy's father seething with rage. The image of Stu about to boil over with his small size was the funniest thing to Nick.

"Alright, I went, now I get to ask the question."

Nick held up a paw as he wiped away a tear from his eye. Letting out a final few chuckles, he signaled for her to continue.

"How old were you when you first touched yourself?"

Nick was taken aback by this. He knew that Judy was not as innocent as most mammals thought, but this unexpected question took him by surprise. He was expecting her to ask something about his youth, but not something so personal.

"Really? That's what you want to go with?"

Judy nodded, a smug grin pulling at the corners of his lips. Just when Nick thought he had his little bunny all figured out, she would throw him a curveball. He leaned over the center console and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger.

"I'm just warning you; I'm going to go to into this with very _graphic_ detail. Are you sure that this isn't going to make you uncomfortable?"

Judy leaned in closer, her nose almost touching Nick's.

"I want every juicy, _filthy_ detail."

Nick laughed as he sat back into his seat. He cracked his knuckles and placed his arms behind his head.

"All right, Carrots, if you insist."

He placed a paw up to his mouth and pretended to clear his throat. Judy knew he always had to do something stupid for dramatic effect.

"It was a cool summer afternoon. I was on the brink of being fourteen years old at the time." Nick said in an overly sarcastic tone.

Judy forced a paw over her mouth to stop any laughter from escaping. She did not want to mess up this golden moment.

"My mother had left the house to attend a party with some of her friends. My young innocence was left alone at home. Since Finnick was busy at that time, I had no one to entertain me. I was left to my own curious devices. Everything went south when I drifted into a highly inappropriate part of the internet."

Nick was suddenly cut off when the loud ringtone of his phone burst throughout the car. Catching both of them by surprise, Nick and Judy jumped. When they both finally recovered, Nick reached for the cup holder and grabbed his phone.

"This is Officer Wilde…"

Judy perked an ear up has she heard muffled chatter coming from the phone. Although she was unable to distinguish exactly who was talking, she could tell it was a male with a deep voice.

"Just now? No, that won't be a problem. We'll be there right away."

Nick hit 'end call' and placed it back in the cup holder. Before Judy could ask who had called, Nick threw the car into gear and pulled out onto the street. He pressed down on the accelerator harder, causing Judy to be forced back into her seat.

"Nick? Is something wrong…"

Nick refused to turn to face her. He kept his eyes on the road, his paws wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.

"Has there been another kidnapping?"

As they sped under a red light and blasted through the intersection, Judy saw the reflection of the traffic light pass over Nick's glassy, wide eyes.

"No… they got one of them back…"

Nick and Judy burst through the front doors of the ZPD Headquarters. Their loud footsteps echoed through the empty lobby as they hurried towards the back of the building. As they ran, Judy gazed around at the empty hallways and abandoned balconies that were typically bustling with officers. She found it a tad odd, but did not let it stick in her mind. There were more important matters to attend to.

They crossed the lobby and entered the hallway leading to the holding cells at the back of the building. As they ran, Judy glanced up at Nick. Just like he had been in the car, he stared straight ahead and kept his gaze focused. As badly as Judy had wanted to talk to him on the drive over, she decided against it. Nick was in a certain mindset that she did not want to disturb. Whatever thoughts about this sudden break in the case ran through his mind, they had Nick's full, undivided attention. When this was all said and done, Judy would be able to curl up next to her Nick in bed back at their apartment and talk it all through.

"Alright, where is he," Nick asked as they threw open the door of the observation room.

Chief Bogo turned from his position in front of the one-way mirror. Judy immediately noticed that his face was stone cold. In all fairness, he was typically like that, but this was far more serious than Judy had ever seen.

"He's right in there." Bogo lifted his hoof and pointed towards a table in the middle of the room on the other side of the glass.

Nick slowly walked over to the glass, his jaw hanging slightly open. Judy watched as Nick's reflection slowly became clearer in the glass until his face met it. He lifted a paw and placed it on the glass. Judy turned and studied the leopard cub sitting alone at the table in the room. At first, she thought that the cold stainless steel and the rest of the room had made him sad, but as she looked closer into his eyes, she saw it. She could not pinpoint exactly what it was, but there was something unnerving hidden deep behind his eyes.

"How long as he been here, Chief," Judy asked as she turned to face the large cape buffalo.

"Just a little more than half an hour. You two are the first officers to see him. A few of the others affiliated with the case have been informed, but they've yet to arrive."

Bogo turned to Nick, who still had his full attention occupied by the cub behind the glass.

"Since he doesn't seem to be paying any attention to us, I'm just going to go ahead and flat out ask. How many red lights did he run this time?"

"Three."

Bogo cocked an eyebrow and let out a small chuckle. Judy could tell it was forced, but Bogo was doing his best to try and lighten the situation.

"That's not too bad. Typically, he'll rack up at least five. I guess tonight was his lucky night. I'll have Officer Young wipe those tickets from our system when he arrives in the morning."

"I'll tell Nick that when we get back home. Now Chief, how exactly did this cub end up here? Did we finally find one of them?"

Chief Bogo let out a deep sigh and turned back towards the holding room. The cub continued to sit motionless at the table. Ever since Nick and Judy had entered the room, his gaze had remained focused on the glass water sitting in front of him.

"I was sitting in my office going over some lastminute paperwork, when I heard a noise from down the hall. When I went outside to investigate, he was just sitting in front of my door in the hallway."

Judy shook her head, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"What? Chief, you can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am, Hopps."

"He was seriously just sitting there in front of your door? That just doesn't make any sense."

"Believe me, Hopps, I'm just as confused by this as you are."

Completely unaware of it, Judy had begun to pace herself in a small circle. It was a habit she tried to break, but had seen little progress.

"Did you check any of the security cameras? There are hundred all over this building. It's impossible that one of them didn't catch whoever left this cub."

"I've already called in Clawhauser to check over all the footage. He should be here shortly."

"Has he said anything?"

Bogo and Judy both turned in Nick's direction. Neither of them had expected a remark from the fox, and stood in surprise.

"I've tried talking to him, but he refuses to say anything."

Nick turned from the glass and stared into Bogo's eyes. His expression lacked any emotion and he spoke with a sense of emergency.

"I'm going to go in and talk to him."

Bogo had not expected such force in Nick's tone. Instead of replying, he simply nodded his head and tossed him the key to the door. Nick took it and walked over to the door. With one final look through the mirror, Nick put the key in the lock and turned.

As the door swung open, Nick felt the icy chill of the air conditioning system penetrate underneath his uniform. The ZPD had been a little too warm for his liking when they walked in the door, so being able to cool off was a small blessing to him. He soon realized that he could use the small detail to his advantage when asking the cub questions. As Nick pulled the sunglasses from his face and closed them up to hang from the collar of his uniform, he noticed that the leopard cub had his unblinking eyes focused right on him. He didn't look scared, but made Nick sense unease hanging in the air. As Nick approached and pulled out the chair to sit down, he gave the cub a smile, keeping cautious to keep his teeth hidden as to not scare him.

"Hey there; you must be Marcus. Are you comfortable? Do I need to turn the air up or down?"

The cub continued to stare at Nick with large glassy eyes as he nodded 'no' without uttering a word. Nick was not surprised by this, considering that young ones were always difficult to start talking.

"Well, now that we have our formalities out of the way, what do you say you and I get down to business? Would you be able to answer some questions I asked you? You would really be a big help to me."

For the first time since Nick walked in the room, the cub avoided eye contact with him. His eyes shot down and stared at the surface of the metal table. Nick could feel a sense of unease coming from the cub, but this was worse than any he had felt before.

"What's wrong, buddy? Do I scare you or something," Nick asked with a few chuckles as he clicked his pen on the table top.

His question was met with the continued silence in the room, save for the rhythmic hum of the air conditioner. Nick stopped clicking his pen and stared at the unmoving cub. He had rarely had to give such a mature talk to young mammals, but he figured that this was his last chance to get the leopard talking. This might be the only lead they could get since Finnick was coming up dry. He did not want to lose this chance.

"I know that you're scared. More than that, I know _exactly_ what it feels like to be walking in your shoes."

This caused the cub's eyes to look up and meet Nick's. Slowly, he lifted his head to face Nick. Although he composure still spoke of hesitance, Nick knew it was a large step in the right direction. He had finally broken through to him.

 _Bingo_

"Right now, you probably feel like the world is conspiring against you. You probably feel that there's no one in this world that you can confide in to find safety and security. When I was growing up, my mother had to work two jobs to support me. She was rarely home, leaving me alone if I ever had any problems. It wasn't until years later that I met a small fennec fox who helped me in situations where I had no one else I could turn to."

Nick paused and unbuttoned the flap on the front of his uniform. Reaching in, he pulled out an old photograph with bent corners and obvious stains and discoloration. He slid it across the table towards the cub, who hesitated for a second before reaching to pick it up.

"That picture was taken on my twelfth birthday. My mom had promised to make me dinner and a cake that night, but she was forced to go in to work for an extra shift. That night, I sat alone at the kitchen table with a frozen dinner and some drinks I stole from the liquor cabinet. It was far from comfort food, but it was the only thing in the house that wasn't from a can, even though the freezer wasn't much better.

My father had left when I was young, so my mother was the only person I felt I had left in my life to trust and seek comfort from. For the first time in my life, I felt alone. I had felt lonely before, but never a sense of abandonment like this. That changed when there was a knock on my front door."

Nick reached across the table, placing a claw on the photo and tapping it lightly. He pointed out Finnick's face under the cracked and yellowing lamination of the photograph.

"There was a fox who lived down the street from me who I had spoken with a few times before. He had come to drop off some of our mailed that got into his box by accident. Although I've now mastered the art of deception, I was horrible at it at the time. This allowed this fox to easily see through me and realize that something was wrong. Much to my surprise, he opened up to me and we spent the night in my living room drinking from the liquor cabinet and just talking about life and the problems that we were facing."

As the tear began to form in the corner of his eye, Nick looked down at the photo. With a large, goofy grin plastered on Finnick's face and a bottle of beer clenched in his tiny paw, Nick could still picture that night as vividly as when it happened.

"That was the first time in years that I truly thought someone understood me and all my problems. This fox, who for a long time had just been a stranger from down the street, grew to become my best friend. I wanted to remember this turning point in my life forever. I grabbed the disposable camera from a drawer in our kitchen and took a picture. I've been carrying that on me for nearly 20 years."

Reaching across the table, he picked up the photograph and placed it back in his pocket. After buttoning the flap back, he patted it as if to secure it safely.

"The point I'm trying to make is that even at your lowest point, there's someone that you can talk to. I want to be that animal that you trust. Now I don't know exactly what you've been through, but I understand the fear and isolation that you feel. There are a lot of animals in this world that would stop at nothing to see you in pain, and my job is to make sure that you're protected."

The cub broke his eye contact with Nick and stared at the one-way mirror on the opposite side of the room. Behind the darkened glass, Judy and Bogo stared in silence. Neither of them had uttered a word while Nick spoke in the room. They simply stood motionless and watched the master work his craft. After being lost in thought for a few moments, the cub turned back to Nick.

"So, what do you say, do we have a deal? Remember that I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to see justice brought to whoever caused you all this pain."

After a few seconds pause, the leopard extended his paw and shook Nick's.

"Now that we have an understanding, let's begin."

Nick quickly turned to the mirror and nodded at the two standing behind it. Judy felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. Even when she had any sense of doubt, she knew not to trust it when it came to Nick doing his job. No matter how difficult it seemed on the surface, Nick always pulled through.

"The first thing I need to know is how you got here. A friend of mine says that he just found you outside of his office."

"I was taken from where I was held to here in a van. I didn't see where I left because as soon as he came into the room, I had a bag put over my head. Anytime I was taken from my room, I was either blindfolded or had something put over my head. This time when he came to get me, he also put rope around my wrists."

Nick sat still and listened in silence as the cub paused. Whatever images were running through his mind. Nick could see in his eyes that they were not pleasant.

"I was thrown into a van, and he drove for a long time. When he opened the door, he quickly cut the rope and pulled the bag from my head. He told me to walk inside and find someone named Bogo.

Nick held up his paw, motioning for the cub to stop. He squeezed at his temples as he tried to process what the young one had just said.

"Hold on just a second. If I'm understanding you correctly, you were brought here and told to come find the chief of police?"

"Is that who Bogo is?"

"Yes. Where you able to get a look at whoever has been holding you captured, even for just a split second?"

"I never saw his face, all I ever heard was his voice. From the first day I was being held, I was taught to never be facing the door when he came in. If you disobeyed, there would be serious consequences."

Nick hesitated briefly before asking his next question. Making itself known at the back of his mind, Nick had a pretty good idea what was coming next, but he did not want to bring himself to admit it.

"And what was it he did if you disobeyed?

"He never did anything to me. I always listened. The first night I was there, I could hear a girl next to me crying out as he screamed at her for hiding a toy in her room. It started with him yelling and her crying. Soon enough, it got worse and I could hear her screaming loudly. Most of what she was saying I couldn't understand. The few words I could actually hear sounded something like, 'don't touch me there, my mommy says that special.'"

Nick felt his stomach knot up as he visualized in graphic detail what the cub was describing. The kid was too innocent and pure to understand what had happened, but Nick knew very well what had occurred. His ears were now lying flat against the back of his head. Unbeknown to Nick and completely out of his sight, Judy ran to the corner of the observation room and vomited into a trash can. She quickly expelled any stomach contents as her small frame tensed. Even Bogo felt a chill go down his spine as his worst fears were confirmed. All three of them had speculated what may have been occurring with all the young mammals that were abducted, but they never wanted to face the realization of it. Now, reality reared its ugly head and shook all of them to their core.

"Um…" Nick stuttered as he struggled to get ahold of himself and form a coherent sentence.

"Alright… let's get back on track here."

Nick shook his head as he tried to erase the vision from his mind's eye. It failed to leave, causing him to continue his job with it still there.

"Did this figure tell you why he was leaving you here? It just seems odd to the rest of us that he would go through all the trouble of capturing you just to come drop you off. It just seems too… easy."

"He told me that it may not be right now, but that all of you would see what he wanted sooner or later."

Nick froze and cocked an eyebrow. At the moment, he was unaware what the statement meant. Multiple different theories ran through his mind as he pictured different scenarios that could pertain to the phrase.

He looked over to the one-way mirror and shrugged, giving Judy and Bogo a look of confusion. Behind the dark glass, the cape buffalo and bunny stood silently as each pictured a different meaning to the phrase the cub had said. Although no one in the room had conjured up the same idea, they all ended badly.

"Did he ever expand on that?"

"No. After that, he kicked me out the van and told me to go inside."

Nick let out a sigh as he found no more questions to ask. He hated to admit that he had finally hit a dead end, but it was inevitable. Standing up and pushing his chair under the table, he put the pen back in his chest pocket.

"Well, since I don't have any more questions, I'm going to go ahead and leave. Someone else will be here in a couple of minutes to talk to you about other stuff. Is there anything I can get you?"

"I'm hungry," he blurted out with enthusiasm.

"Well then," Nick said with a chuckle, "I'll go down to the cafeteria and heat up the leftovers from today. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be back."

For the first time since Nick had entered the room, the cub smiled. After all the pain and suffering he had endured, Nick felt a glimmer of hope that things were going to be better for him. Turning from the table, Nick exited the room and made sure to close the door gently behind him. As the door clicked shut behind him, Bogo walked over to a nearby table and stopped the recording machine. Two televisions illuminated the room in a soft white glow, their screens displaying every angle of the interrogation room.

"How was that chief?"

"Well, it wasn't everything I'd been hoping for, but then again, it appears that the cub doesn't know all that much. His captor did a better job keeping him in the dark than I could have imagined. He has no idea where he was being kept. That was the lead I was hoping to get out of this, but I guess that's going up in flames."

"Now just hold on a minute, Chief."

Judy's small frame walked across the room in the direction of her head officer. If it had been almost any other officer doing this, Bogo would have told them to back down. However, he knew by now that it was best to just let Judy speak her mind. Most of the time, she raised perfectly valid points that he hadn't even considered.

"We can have his fur combed and tested. If we come across any kind of foreign object that shouldn't be there, we run a chance of being able to trace its origin. I understand the odds of this being a success are low, but it's worth a shot, Chief."

Bogo crossed his arms over his large chest.

"You mean look for something like dirt or spores?

"Exactly. Zootopia and all the surrounding areas have different plants exclusive to their biomes. If we find any sort of organic material, we can trace it back to the specific biome that it came from."

Bogo nodded his head with approval. He walked over to an intercom mounted onto the wall. Pressing the button, he waited for Clawhauser to stop stuffing his face and answer.

"Clawhauser, I need you to send Marie down here from the lab. Tell her to get a fur comb as well as some sample bags."

"Right away, Chief," the cheetah responded with excitement as he finished chewing something in his mouth. The smacking sounds echoed throughout the room before the intercom clicked off.

"Typical," the cape buffalo muttered under his breath as he turned back to his two officers.

"In the meantime, I want the two of you to head home and rest up. You can come in late tomorrow if you feel like it. I understand that I called you here at such a late hour, so it seems appropriate I cut you some slack."

"Thank you, sir," Nick let out with joy. Judy had opened her mouth to respond, but Nick was ready to bolt out the door before she could even suck in a breath.

"Um, chief…" the intercom crackled to life once more. This time, however, Clawhauser's voice seemed riddled with concern.

Bogo rolled his eyes before turning around and pressing the red button to speak,

"What is it, Clawhauser?"

"The parents are here."

Bogo's eyes went wide with shock at first, but this quickly evolved into a form of seething rage that Nick and Judy had rarely seen.

"WHAT?! Who in the living hell called them over here? We still need time to get the child fully examined. We can't let them in here yet. Just keep them at the front desk."

"I don't know sir. I'm guessing one of the officers here. They just burst through the front door and ran in the direction of your office. I tried stopping them, but they ignored me. It won't take long for them to realize that you're not there and come find you."

Bogo snorted as his muscles tensed in anger. Before he could turn to the door and lock it, the metal slammed into the wall as two cheetahs burst through the doorway. Both appeared to be out of breath, and the mother had tears streaming down her face. Like most parents involved in this case that Nick and Judy had spoken with, their eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and excessive crying.

"Where is he? Where's our little boy?!"

Bogo relaxed himself and calmly walked over, doing his best to make good of a bad situation.

"He's in the room over there, but we still need a little time to sort some things out. We can't have anyone touching him until we comb his fur. We can't afford the risk of contaminating our only lead. It would be best if the two of you wait here for a couple of minutes while one of our lab technicians handles him."

Ignoring Bogo's words, the parents darted to the door. The father swung the door open with so much force that it made a hole in the sheetrock. Nick and Judy watched helplessly from the sidelines as the two cheetahs ran into the room and scooped up the cub in their arms before he could even look up.

"Oh my God, Marcus! Thank the Lord you're safe! We thought that we would never see you again!"

As Nick began to smile at the reunion, even if they had deliberately disobeyed procedure, he watched as Marcus' eyes slowly began to grow large with fear. This soon progressed to rage as the cub extended his claws and slashed out at his mother. Even for his small size, he was able to produce enough force to cut a deep gash into her cheek. The parents dropped their child as the mother stumbled backwards, gripping her face as blood began to stain her fur.

"M-m-arcus…" she muttered while looking at her cub in absolute fear.

The cub curved his lips up, revealing small, sharp teeth as he let out a growl. Small drops of blood fell from the tips of his claws and splattered onto the concrete floor.

"You two did this to me! I tried calling for help, all you did was laugh at me and call me names!"

As the father held the mother in his arms, he struggled to find words. After stumbling over his sentence a few times, he finally worked up the ability to spit it out.

"What on Earth are you talking about, son? We haven't seen you in months. Up until a few minutes ago, we thought you were dead."

"When I had a bag on my head and was being beaten, I screamed for help. All I heard was your voices laughing at me! You did nothing to help, and it's all your fault! I HATE YOU!"

Nick watched the last three words impale the parents like a dagger. They both backed into the wall before slowly slumping to the floor in a crying heap. As the mother and father sobbed, Marcus just stared at them with intense hatred burning in his eyes. Nick could find no words to describe what he had just witnessed. In the matter of a few seconds, what should have been a joyous moment of family reunion had devolved into a show of hatred.

"What the hell was that…" Bogo let out as he stood staring through the one-way mirror. Even he was having trouble trying to explain the situation.

Judy stood motionless to Nick's side, her mouth hanging ajar as she found herself unable to speak.

"I need medical staff down here immediately," Bogo spoke into the intercom while keeping his gaze directed to the room and the parents' crumpled forms on the floor. "And also, have someone bring me a set of handcuffs and a muzzle, child-sized."

"What's the only thing worse than losing your child?"

Judy and Bogo turned to Nick who was still starring into the room. His face was now expressionless, giving them the impression that he was still having difficulty processing the whole ordeal.

"What was that, Wilde?"

"I asked what's the only thing worse than losing your child?"

Bogo was at a loss for words as he stood in silence. Even Judy was having difficulty figuring out what Nick meant by the question.

"To have your child returned to you, and then taken away..."

Bogo blinked with confusion while trying to make sense of Nick's statement.

"Wilde, what on Earth are you talking about?"

"Their child is back, but he's not what he used to be. What they have now may look like their cub, but he's nothing more than a shell of what used to be. The Marcus they knew and loved is gone, replaced by a monster in his body.

The mother and father still sat on the floor, holding each other closely. The father stole a quick glance at his son, who only hissed in response.

"At least if he was dead, there would have been closure. The parents thought they had their little boy back, but the old Marcus is gone. Their baby is gone, but his physical form is still here to torture them."

Without another word from anyone, the two of them left the station.

Judy sat in silence as Nick drove home. In all honestly, Judy could not bring herself to talk to him about anything that had transpired at the station. She kept telling herself that what Nick had said was disturbed beyond belief, but she knew, deep down inside, that he was right. Whoever the kidnapper was, he was likely going to do this with all the missing mammals. He would brainwash them into hating their parents, and then leave them as a tortuous reminder of what used to be.

Judy turned to face Nick, and now found his mouth in a frown. She hadn't seen him genuinely angry since the Night Howler case. In all honesty, it scared her. The fox who she saw as unable to show anger was gone. Whatever had replaced the Nick she knew, she hoped it was not permanent.

Nick unlocked the door to their apartment with force, causing the door to slam into the wall, leaving a small hole. Nick uttered a low growl at the thought of having to make a repair tomorrow. He tossed the car keys onto the kitchen counter, causing them to rattle around and slide across until they fell over the edge. Nick let out another growl as he stormed over to the fridge and threw the door open. Without so much as reading any of the labels, he pulled a random bottle of wine out. Bearing his teeth, Nick bit down on the cork and ripped it out. He spit it onto the floor and wrapped his lips around the neck, taking a few large gulps from the bottle.

As Nick swallowed down the wine, Judy slowly creeped in from the hallway and shut the door behind her. Her ears were pressed down flat against the back of her head, her lower lip slightly trembling as she watched the most important mammal in her life starting to slowly lose control of himself.

"Nick… I'm not sure if this is the best way to be dealing with this. I think we just need to sit down, cool down for a second, and talk this over."

Nick lowered the bottle from his lips, the dark contents sloshing around the inside. He shot her an aggravated glare, causing Judy to shrink back even further.

"What good is talking this over going to do us? All you ever want to do is talk. There's only so much that words can do. In case you haven't noticed, this is far beyond the help of one of your pity talks."

Lifting the bottle to his lips once more, Nick gulped down more of it. Judy watched as the dark liquid swirled around in the bottle before entering his muzzle. Soon enough, the bottle became empty. Nick stared at the empty bottle before tossing it into the trash can. It bounced around the lip before teetering over and falling onto the floor. It shattered into multiple pieces, causing glass shards to scatter all over the floor and underneath the cabinets.

"Shit," Nick mumbled under his breath as he went to the refrigerator to grab another bottle.

"Nick, stop it! This is not the proper way to deal with this!"

Nick ignored Judy's pleas as he pulled a second bottle and bit out the cork like the first time. Spitting it out onto the floor, he walked into the living room as he swallowed nearly half the bottle in one go. Judy followed close behind, a look of worry taking over her entire face.

"Please, Nick! I know this isn't who you are. We need to sit down and talk this over like we always have. I know that right now, you don't think it'll do any good, but believe me that it will."

Judy reached out to place a paw on Nick's shoulder, causing him to turn around. He swatted it away, causing Judy to retract quickly and flinch with fear. Nick let out a low growl as he returned to drinking straight from the bottle. As he drank, some escaped the corners of his lips, causing it to drip down the beige fur of his neck. He did not seem to notice, continuing to drink in a sloppy manner while the red liquid began to soak into the collar of his uniform.

"There's nothing talking can do to fix something this bad. I'm not going to be able to sleep at night knowing that these kids are being abducted and turned into mindless shells of their former selves with the sole intention of hating their parents. I can't take this anymore!"

Nick drank more, but soon emptied the bottle of its contents. Glancing at the peeling label with aggravation, he let out a scream of irritation. He threw it on the floor, causing even more glass to scatter around the apartment. Judy stepped back as a few pieces slid across the floor in her direction.

"This is the first possibility of a lead that we've had in months, and all that came of it was nothing more than a mother with a permanent scar and a child that hates her and the father. Hell, if I had a kid and he ended up doing nothing more than hating me the rest of my life, I would wish they were dead! I would rather them die loving me then spend the rest of their life wanting me to fall in front of a bus."

Judy had rarely heard Nick raise his voice, and the anger and frustration he carried in his tone made her fur stand on end. The only time she had ever seen this much anger in him was when he pulled his claws out and bared his teeth when they were in the ZPD and she pulled fox repellent on him. This was not the fox she knew, and it was starting to bring Judy to tears.

"Nick… all I'm asking is that you listen to me. There's nothing more that I want. I'm trying to do this for your own good."

Judy tried once more to place a paw on his shoulder, but Nick only shrank back.

"Don't touch me," Nick said with the scent of expensive wine floating on his breath. He fumbled backwards a little bit, causing him to almost lose his balance. He managed to catch the arm of the sofa and correct himself.

"You know I only want what's best for you…"

She reached out her paw once more. This caused Nick to show his fangs. Unknown to Judy, Nick held his paws at his side as he extended his claws out.

"I said… don't… TOUCH ME!"

In the blink of an eye, Nick swung his arm, causing Judy to fall backwards onto the floor. As her small frame collapsed onto the hardwood floor amongst the pieces of broken glass, Nick froze with his paw in midair, claws still extended. Judy gasped before letting out a small squeal and slowly putting a paw against her cheek. Nick suddenly snapped back to reality and looked over at his paws still raised in midair. Illuminated in the lights of the city coming in through the window of the apartment, Nick watched a dark crimson fluid dripping from his extended claws. He looked over to see the same liquid staining the gray fur of Judy's face. As she slowly pulled her paw back, Nick could see it was deep. He had managed to cut all the way down to the flesh.

"Oh my God… Nick… how could you…"

Judy was barely able to muster the sentence as her body began to contract from her sporadic breathing. Nick locked eyes with her, and he could see tears welling in the corners of her eyes and streaming down her face.

"…What have I done…"

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	13. At the End of the Earth

**Chapter 13: At the End of the Earth**

Judy's blood dripped from Nick's extended claws and onto the hardwood floor of the apartment. As the adrenalin slowly left his system and his vision began to unblur, Judy's shaking frame came more and more into focus. At first, she was nothing more than a quivering gray blob, but soon enough, the streaks of tears staining her fur were made more apparent. Judy's glassy eyes stared up at Nick who still towered over her as if he was ready to strike once more.

"C-Carrots…"

Nick leaned down to offer his assistance, but Judy quickly shied away by cowering into the nearest corner. Her feet kicked as they struggled to find grip at first. With a paw held to her cheek, the blood seeping from the wound slowed down, but did not stop completely. Small amounts still managed to come out between her fingers.

"Stay away from me, Nick… Just stay away!"

Judy brought her knees up to her chest as if to protect herself from another attack. Nick took a few steps closer, causing Judy's sobs to become louder and even more sporadic. He knew that their neighbors must be awake by now from all the commotion, but that was the least of his concerns.

"I don't know what came over me… please, let me help…"

Nick leaned forward and extended a paw to help Judy up, but she quickly reached out and tried to swat him away. Her arm waved madly around in the air. Although she was too far from him to smack his paw away, Nick retracted as he saw the look of fear in her eyes grow even more.

"I said I want you to stay away! For Christ's sake, just go! Leave!"

Nick could now feel tears beginning to stream down his face. The typical façade he kept up had crumbled down, revealing a fox filled with nothing but despair. After all the months of work he had put into their relationship, it had all been demolished in a single moment by his actions.

"Is that what you really want?"

Judy removed her paw from her cheek and examined the blood that stained her once beautiful gray fur. The sight of this caused her to sob even heavier.

"Yes, just go…"

More blood seeped from the wound in her skin and slowly slipped down her cheek before dripping on the floor. The sight of Judy's blood on the floor being illuminated by the moonlight outside was almost enough to make Nick physically sick.

"If that's what you want…"

Nick turned to the front door to leave, dragging his feet behind him. He knew that as soon as he walked through that door, it was very likely he would never speak to or see Judy again. Everything he had worked for was over.

"I hate you…"

Nick froze in his tracks. Slowly turning his head, he found Judy standing amongst the pieces of shattered glass on the floor. One of the larger shards was now in her grasp, the moonlight bouncing off the jagged edges.

"W-what…"

"I said, I fucking HATE you!"

Judy raised the glass to her throat, and, with one swift motion, let the sharp edge tear open the flesh of her throat. The sound of her skin ripping open immediately caused Nick to vomit on the floor. As blood gushed out in large amounts and spilled down her body, Nick screamed. They were not screams of pain or fear, but a primal noise that erupted from deep within the fox. The screams he let out soon faded and his vision blurred around him.

Nick jolted awake, clenching the fur over his heart tightly in his paw. He had kicked the covers away just seconds before waking up, his fur still sticking to the sheets beneath him in sweat-soaked clumps. His breathing was deep, and Nick did his best to try and return it to normal.

"W-what… Nick, are you alright?"

Judy stirred from her sleep and attempted to rub some of the grogginess out of her eyes. Nick found no words at first, only letting his heavy breathing echo into their silent bedroom. Soon enough however, the familiar surroundings of their room came into focus and he began to calm down.

 _It was just a dream_

"Y-Yeah… yeah, Carrots. I'm fine. I just had a nightmare."

"Well whatever it was about, tell me in the morning," Judy slurred as she nodded off into the welcoming arms of slumber once again. She wrapped herself in the small section of sheets that Nick had not managed to pull or kick off of her.

As her small form turned over in the bed once again, Nick still found difficulty breathing. He starred out the window of their bedroom, the moonlight flooding in and gracing Judy's body with a surreal glow. Avoiding waking her once more, Nick slowly stood up out of bed and pulled a robe over his damp fur.

Nick walked into the living room, taking careful consideration to shut the door quietly behind him. His vision glanced over the floor of the living room, taking notice that there was no broken glass anywhere. As the pads of his feet softly clapped against the hard surface, images of his nightmare flashed into his head of shattered wine bottles on the ground and blood dripping onto the hardwood. Nick did his best to put these images to the back of his mind and forget about them. He knew that it had only been a nightmare, but he swore he could still feel Judy's blood soaking into the fur of his paw.

Stepping out onto the balcony and into the cool Autumn air of the night, Nick folded his arms and leaned against the glass railing overlooking the city. Despite the lateness of the night, a few vehicles dotted the road and one animal strolled along the sidewalk. Nick took in a deep breath and thought about his nightmare.

The image of Judy's blood running down the gray fur of her beautiful face was still vivid in the eye of Nick's mind. Although he had committed his fair share of mistakes as a kit , and even some as an adult, this was the first nightmare that he was able to recall with every graphic detail. From the sound of the empty wine bottles shattering on the floor to the sobs at Judy let out, Nick found himself able to recreate everything to his own horrified surprise.

"Dear God, what the hell is wrong with me?"

With his elbows propped up on the railing, Nick grabbed at the fur on the sides of his head with his paws. He squeezed eyes shut as he tried to come up with some explanation as to what could possibly cause him to dream about such horrid action.

When they arrived home from the police station, they had not spoken to one another. Nick simply drank a glass of water in the kitchen and then went into bed. Judy soon followed and climbed into bed with him. Nick planned not to talk about anything until morning, but that didn't stop him from rolling over and pulling her against his chest. Nick still remembered the sweet smell of her fur underneath his nose as he drifted off to sleep with the warmth of his mate radiating throughout his entire body.

"Why would I even dream of something like that? I've made mistakes, but I would never do something like that. Especially to Judy…"

"What was that, Nick?"

The fox turned around and found himself surprised to see Judy standing on the balcony. She had climbed out of bed, not bothering to put on anything else besides a shirt that just barely covered below her waistline.

"Oh, hey, Carrots. I thought you were going to stay in bed."

Judy slowly walked over to Nick, doing her best not to stumbled in her groggy state.

"I rolled over to snuggle with you, but I couldn't find you next to me. I had a feeling you would be out here since that's typically what you've done in the past."

Nick chuckled has he opened his arms and invited her in. Judy pressed her head against his stomach, taking in a deep breath of the smell she had grown to love more than life itself.

"Don't worry, Carrots. I just had a bad dream and needed to come out here to get some fresh air."

"Hopefully the monster in your dream wasn't too scary," Judy spoke with her voice slightly muffled by Nick's fur.

"I just wanted to come and make sure that you were alright. Once you're done out here, just come back and join me in bed. I can't snuggle with my stuffed animals. They just don't feel the same."

Judy went inside and vanished behind the corner leading to their bedroom. Nick's mind was now consumed with replaying the words she had just said to him. Even though she only met them as a joke, Nick was playing them over and over again in his mind. Each time, it made his skin crawl a little more.

 _Hopefully the monster in your dream wasn't too scary_

"God, Carrots… you don't know the half of it…"

Nick pulled his robe tighter to his frame as the wind picked up a little more. As he slowly walked back inside, the words continued to sting at him. No matter what promises he had made to Judy, this was never going to leave his lips. Some things were better left unsaid.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	14. Fracture

This chapter uses the song "Saturday Sun" by Nick Drake.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Fracture**

"Same thing as Tuesday, sweetie?"

The officer Finnick had come accustomed to calling 'mom' over the past few weeks lowered her menu to make eye contact with him. His small body sat in a booster seat, allowing him to be just below eye level with her. After scanning over the colorful images of the children's menu and ignoring them for the most part, he placed a finger on one of the items. Officer Strode leaned over the table and did her best to look at his selection upside down.

"Really? You want pasta? That sounds awfully adventurous. Are you sure you don't want the tofu nuggets again," Officer Strode asked in humorous tone.

After glancing around to find the surrounding customers distracted by conversation, he pulled the pacifier from his mouth and gave her a scowl. This caused her to let out a laugh as she did her best to control herself. After finally regaining her self control, Officer Strode wiped a tear from under her eye.

"I guess my little boy is growing up. Are you sure you're ready for the big kit meal?"

Finnick cocked an eyebrow. He had grown tired of eating children's food over the course of the investigation. He felt a little slack on the leash was well deserved.

"Fine; I know when I'm not going to win an argument. Bogo had wanted you to stay in character as much as possible, but I guess I can let this one slide. Just make sure to get a little sauce on your fur and the tablecloth for good measure."

Having reached an agreement he found acceptable, Finnick placed the pacifier back in his mouth. Soon afterwards, the waiter returned to their table to take orders. Officer Strode ordered for both of them, making silly little jokes at Finnick's expense when she could. He knew that she was trying to keep up the mommy image as best as possible, but that did not mean he had to be fully accepting of it.

"And what will this little guy have to drink," the waiter asked while reaching over and tussling the fur on Finnick's head. Finnick played along, doing his best not to accidentally give himself away.

 _You're so lucky I can't reach out and slap you_

"Wadah," Finnick exclaimed in his best attempt at butchering the word 'water'.

"You sure you don't want any juice? Most toddlers love the apple juice here!"

Finnick ignored the waiter's comment and instead pulled the sippy cup from his backpack that had been slung over the back of his chair. Sticking the nozzle into his mouth, he happily started sucking down the container's contents.

"I apologize, but he's extremely picky. I have to buy him this one particular brand, or else he just refuses to drink it," Officer Strode explained while handing the waiter their menus.

"No worries, ma'am, I was the exact same way when I was his age. I'll get those orders in right away and be back with your drinks!"

With that, the waiter flipped the cover back over his tiny notepad and disappeared behind the doors to the kitchen. While Officer Strode read through any messages she had missed that morning, Finnick basked in the glory of his small victory. The previous night, he had poured red wine into his sippy cup to bring along today. He knew that there was no chance she would have snuck him any at the restaurant, and felt he deserved a small treat today. It was far from enough to get him drunk, but just enough to give him a decent buzz. What she did not know would not hurt her.

Once their food came, Finnick quickly devoured the plate before him. As part of the illusion he had to keep up, Finnick had been forced to eating smaller portions in public. He assumed that the waiter must have told the chef to make his dish a smaller size. Even after consuming every speck of food and licking his plate clean, Finnick was still left hungry. Like every other night following a stakeout like this, he was going to eat over half the food in his fridge to compensate for the 'toddler diet'. It did not leave him feeling too well to have scarfed down a ton of junk food, but it was better than starving.

"I've been meaning to ask, so hear it goes. What made you decide to help us?"

Office Strode's comment caught Finnick by surprise. He stopped sipping from his cup and cast her a puzzled look. This was the first time she showed any real personal interest in his life. He did not know whether to feel honored by this or confused.

"We got here late, so the lunch rush is already gone. The only other animals eating in here are the elderly couple on the far side of the dining room having dinner at 4 P.M. Let's not forget that our waiter is outside on a smoke break. You don't have to worry about anyone overhearing us."

Finnick looked around to find she was right. The elderly couple were too preoccupied with cutting their meal into small pieces to pay them any attention. Their waiter could be seen outside a nearby window, smoking with who he assumed were members of the kitchen staff.

"If I get caught, I'm not taking the fall for this one."

Officer Strode chuckled and extended her paw out to shake Finnick's. The smaller fennec reluctantly reached out and shook it, having to stretch out over the table to do so.

 **Begin "Saturday Sun"**

"When Nick first offered this idea to me, I didn't really know what to say. It wasn't because my mind jumped to all the risks and consequences that would come with this. I couldn't believe that he was trusting me with an assignment of this magnitude."

Officer Strode slightly tilted her head to the side and cocked and eyebrow, silently asking Finnick to elaborate.

"I know it seems like such a silly notion, but I was more worried about Nick's trust than putting my own life on the line with this. I'm not exactly sure how much Nick told you about me before this whole ordeal, but I can imagine he left out some of the more… colorful details, and that's putting it in a very, _very_ polite way."

"Officer Wilde didn't mention much. All I was told was that you were a friend of his and the perfect… um… size for the job," Officer Strode said hesitantly as she did her best to not insult him.

Finnick responded with a light laugh and another sip from his cup of 'grape juice'. He had expected nothing else from Nick. Trying to paint his old pal Finnick as a much better mammal than he actually was may have been the best decision for the time being. Nick knew a time for elaborations would come, and the first day Finnick met Officer Strode surely was not the best time.

"I guess he kept some of the other details out of the spotlight. Well, now is a better time than any to tell you what Nick didn't. For starters, my record with you guys is far from clean. Over the past few years, I've had my fair share of mistakes and slipups. Some have been small things, while others… well, let's just say I would be behind bars for a very long time. I could try to justify them by saying I had to do it so I could have at least some kind of living, but that would be a lie. After a while, I started doing some of them just because I wanted a new watch or a new phone. Quite a few of them ended up putting me in the hot seat. Looking back on all of it, I'm lucky I escaped some of those incidents with nothing more than a few scratches and bruises."

Officer Strode continued to sit in respectful silence. Finnick had not expected her to digest all of this with ease, and it all showed on her face.

"When Nick meet Judy, I was left alone. I resorted to pulling off jobs on my own and adapting to the best of my abilities. It didn't take me long to figure out that things couldn't continue how I was doing them."

"You needed another partner, didn't you?"

"Believe it or not, that wasn't what made me change my ways. I had adapted to living without Nick, but decided that what I needed wasn't another partner. What I needed was a new outlook on life. Scamming innocent mammals was no respectable way to live my life. One day, I said 'to hell with all this' and applied for a job at a body shop. Whether or not it would pay better than my old way of life was completely out of the question. If I had to resort to living in a cheap apartment on the bad side of town, then so be it. I came to the conclusion that I would rather live a bad life built on honesty than a good one built on deception."

Officer Strode took a few moments to gather and absorb everything she had just been told. Being told the truth about the fox she had been partnered with the past few months was not the most comforting news to be told, but she managed to swallow it down.

"After thinking Nick's proposition over for a little while, I came to the conclusion that I needed to do this not just for others, but for myself as well. This was my chance to right all the wrongs I had done over the course of my life."

Finnick paused and starred out the front window of the restaurant. Animals passed by, oblivious to the conversation going on behind the weathered glass.

"You know, I used to believe what my dad said when I was growing up."

Finnick looked up as Office Strode broke her silence. As she continued to talk, her head remained pointed down towards the table.

"He drilled this idea into my head that foxes would never amount to anything more than criminals. Of course, I didn't want to believe any of this. I would always do my best in school, even though some of my teachers would obviously hold my species against me. There was one day when I came home with a black eye and bruises hidden under my fur. I was expecting sympathy from my father, but was instead met with nothing but, 'I told you so. The world will never view you as anything more than a shady fox.' As much as I wanted to admit he was right, I couldn't bring myself to do that. Instead, I spent all my time trying to prove my father wrong."

She lifted her head, revealing a sheepish smile to Finnick. Pulling her wallet from her purse, she removed her badge and placed it on the table facing Finnick.

"I don't know about you, but I think I proved him wrong. Just remember this, Finnick."

Officer Strode stood up from her chair and brushed any remaining crumbs off her clothes. She leaned over and placed her paw over Finnick's.

"I defied the stereotype, and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one. I don't see you as a fox. I see you as a truly selfless mammal willing to put his friends first. Zootopia could use a lot more mammals like you."

With a few pats on his paw, she walked off in the direction of their waiter to ask for the check. As Finnick watched her open a door and vanish outside, he felt something deep inside begin to emerge. Few mammals in his life gave Finnick a true sense of protection and understanding. Besides Nick, Judy and his own mother, Finnick had mainly been ignored his whole life. For the first time in a while, he felt that someone understood him. He smiled to himself and jumped down from his chair to go to the bathroom. Making sure to fake a waddle on the way there to keep up his character, he pushed open the heavy door. The smell of cheap air freshener and soap wafted out through the crack and invaded his nostrils. He found a little trouble in reaching the tall toilet, but managed. As he went about his business, he could not help but think of Judy's story about falling into a toilet at the academy. Even now, the story made the corners of his lips pull into a smile.

Finnick had to hop up a considerable distance to reach the sink. The soap was much too large to hold, so he scraped some off with a claw. Starring back at himself in the mirror, he still had not gotten used to his new fur color. No matter how many times he saw it, a slight sense of unease would crawl up his spine. He hoped that this would all be over soon so he could finally see his true self in the mirror once more. As he pushed open the door to the bathroom, he saw Officer Strode back at the table with the waiter handing over the check. Finnick hoped the waiter did not take another smoke break after receiving the check. He desperately wanted to finish up work for the day and go home.

Finnick felt something tug on the back of his shirt. Before he could react to the sudden and unseen force, the small fox was yanked backwards. As his head spun around, he was greeted with the site of a large cloaked figure. Any details as to what species this mysterious figure was were shrouded by a thick trench coat and tall collar. Not knowing what else to do, Finnick swung his tiny fists in a pitiful show of retaliation. His abductor ignored this as he ran in the direction of the kitchen. Vanishing behind the saloon-style doors, Finnick let out a high-pitched squeal of desperation. This caused the abductor to place a large paw over Finnick's muzzle. The large fingers wrapped all the way around his snout. Finnick tried to mumble something, but was ignored as they bolted through the empty kitchen.

The harsh brightness of daylight made Finnick squeeze his eyes tight as they burst through the back door. After taking a few seconds to adjust, he found that they were now in an alley adjacent to the restaurant. Before he could give too much attention to his surroundings, Finnick was thrown into the back of a van. The heavy metal doors creaked on their hinges as they slammed shut. Finnick stood up and waddled over to the door, but was quickly pulled back by another mammal. He squirmed in the animal's grasp, doing everything in his power to try and break free. For the first time in many years, Finnick let out real tears and sobbed sporatically.

"Settle down you piece of shit," a deep voice yelled from behind him as a cloth was placed over his muzzle.

The last words of the sentence echoed in Finnick's ears. The corners of his vision blurred, and he felt his muscles beginning to weaken. As he collapsed on the floor and stared at the ceiling of the vehicle, Finnick watched his vision become darker and darker. With one final thrust of his fist into the empty air, Finnick felt his mind fully slip away from reality.

* * *

"Come on, Carrots. There's no way I'm going to believe something like that."

Nick popped another piece of candy into his mouth as he stared out the windshield of their cruiser. To his side, Judy reached over and pulled a couple of pieces from the bag. Although she had originally criticized Nick for bringing junk food, Judy soon found herself taking part in the consumption.

"I know it seems outlandish, but why would I ever lie to you?"

Nick cocked an eyebrow and gave her a smirk that read ' _You really want to go down that road?_ '

"You really expect me to believe Bogo has prosthetic horns? I'm willing to admit that I don't have the best sense of judgement, but I'm not that stupid, Carrots."

Judy shrugged in silent admittance of losing the battle. Her attention went back to the park across the street. Any second now, Finnick and Officer Strode would return from lunch. The survellaince she and Nick had been conducting over the past few weeks had grown to bore her a little bit, but she didn't mind. Having Nick in the car as entertainment kept her sanity, even if he went a little too far sometimes. As she glanced over at her partner, she noticed him lost in his own thoughts as he stared at the windshield. Whatever was on his mind, it had one hundred percent of his concentration.

"Hey, Nick, is everything alright?"

Nick continued to stare straight ahead, his eyes completely unblinking.

"Nick… can you hear me?"

Her fox remained silent, causing Judy to reach out and softly place a paw on his arm. As soon as she lay a finger on him, Nick snapped to attention. He let out a startled yelp and turned to Judy with wide eyes. As his muscles untensed, he kept a paw clenched around the fabric of his uniform.

"My God… you scared me, Carrots…"

"Scared you," she asked with a slight hint of confusion and humor in her voice. "What on Earth were you thinking about? It was like you were in a trance or something."

Nick's mind soon filled with vivid images from his nightmare the previous night. As he stared at the soft gray fur of Judy's face, he could see the wide, bleeding gashes on her cheek. Nick blinked wildly, doing his best to erase the horrible scene from his sight.

"It's nothing to worry about, Carrots. I'm just running over some of the details of the case in my head."

Nick paused as he looked down the street in the direction of the restaurant. He was hoping to find Finnick and Officer Strode walking their way so he could avoid the conversation, but to his luck, he found no one. He turned back to Judy and found her staring at him with a questioning look on her face. In response to her suspicions, Nick leaned over the center console and placed a kiss on her forehead. This caused her ears to flatten against the back of her head and the insides to turn red.

"Believe me, Carrots. If something was really bothering me, I would tell you about it. Now, can we drop this and just get back to just staring out the window like we've been doing the past few weeks?"

Judy seemed satisfied with Nick's answer. In turn, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. Nick's eyes fluttered shut and his mind diverted from the thoughts of his nightmare. As soon as it had started, Judy pulled away, leaving Nick's pursed lips hanging in midair.

"As boring as that sounds, sure."

Nick smiled and caressed Judy's cheek with the back of his paw.

"It's only boring if you let it be boring."

They both turned suddenly as the radio mounted to the dashboard crackled to life in a burst of static.

"Judy, Nick, are you there?!"

Clawhauser's voice sounded panicked as it crackled through the speaker and filled the car. Nick fumbled with the receiver for a second before pulling it from the clip. Holding in the palm of his hand, he pressed the side button down with a finger.

"Clawhauser, is something wrong?"

In between the neutral static on the radio and Clawhauser's next words, Nick felt his stomach drop. The cheetah's trembling voice came over the radio once more, and Nick felt a numbing sensation begin to spread through the entirety of his body.

"It's Finnick…"

Nick dropped the radio, letting it swing by its cord. Within a matter of seconds, he had flung open the door to their cruiser and begun sprinting in the direction of the restaurant. He did not even look to see if Judy was following behind him. If she was calling to him, he was unable to hear a word of it. The only sound he could hear in his ears was a constant ringing.

Nick sprinted at full pace down the sidewalk, pushing aside anyone who got in front of him. Some stared at him while others yelled in aggravation. Nick ignored them as the restaurant came within his sight. A cruiser was already parked on the curb directly in front with three officers standing on the sidewalk. He recognized two of them as being undercover in the park across the street. As Nick approached and came within their site, one of them pointed in his direction. A different officer turned and walked forward. The wolf stretched out his arms and did his best to stop Nick. The fox's small frame slammed into the wolf's large paws, causing him to come to a jolting stop.

"Just hold on, Wilde. Bogo instructed us to not let you in just yet. I need you stay calm and wiat out here with us."

With hot tears streaming down his cheeks, Nick continued to try and run. His effort was fruitless as his feet simply slid out from underneath him.

"Please, Wilde. I don't want to restrain you, but I will if I need to."

Ignoring his fellow officer's words, Nick backed off from his grip, and ducked under the wolf's paws before he could make any effort to stop him. Nick threw open the front door to the restaurant with the officer screaming his name from behind. Standing in the middle of the main dining room, Nick found Officer Strode talking to the manager of the restaurant. Her eyes looked up and locked with his. An overwhelming feeling of dread filled her body at the thought of breaking the news to Finnick's best friend.

"Where is he…"

Officer Strode calmly stepped forward. She made sure to keep her distance from Nick.

"Just calm down, Wilde…"

Nick ignored her pleas and continued to step forward, his face contorted in a mixture of fear and anger. Judy had finally caught up with him and ran through the front door with the officers from outside following close behind. One of them had pulled out a pair of handcuffs in case the need to restrain Nick arose.

"I said… where… IS HE?!"

For a few moments, everything went silent. All mammals present stood completely still as Nick shed a few more tears. Finally mustering the courage to do so, Officer Strode locked eyes with Nick. As much as she wanted to explain everything they knew so far, she knew Nick just wanted a straight answer. Officer Strode shook her head from side to side and pointed behind her. Nick's eyes darted in the direction of her finger. Lying on the ground was Finnick's backpack with part of the elephant suit hanging out of an unzipped portion.

Nick felt the world around him begin to spin. Judy yelled from behind, but Nick could not make out a single word. Before Judy could reach her fox, Nick collapsed to the ground and his vision went black.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	15. The Same Asylum as Before

This chapter uses the songs "Dead Flowers" and "Moonlight Mile" by The Rolling Stones

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Same Asylum as Before**

"Come on, Nick. Let me choose. We've been listening to your stuff all night," Finnick exclaimed as Nick removed the record from the turntable platter and returned it to its sleeve.

Making sure to treat his sister's albums with the greatest care, Nick placed the jacket back in its plastic sleeve and into the exact place on the record shelf he had pulled it from. The last thing he wanted was to ding a corner or scratch the record.

"But you always choose something sappy, Finn. I'm not in the mood for listening to _Abba's Greatest Hits_ again. I'm pretty sure I've had my fill of them for the next few years. Not to mention that this is my house, and with my mother not home, I officially have jurisdiction over everything that occurs within these walls."

Nick grabbed the glass of bourbon resting on their coffee table and took a sip. Although it taken some getting used to, he had grown to enjoy the strong taste as it slowly burned its way down his throat.

"Come on, Nick. I bought the booze this time, and I deserve to have at least one choice."

Nick smirked as he scanned the spines for another choice listening selection.

"You're holding that over my head like you just saved my life."

"Well maybe if you'd have the balls to take a little from your mom's liquor cabinet, we wouldn't be having this discussion, now would we?"

This caused Nick to stop sipping from the glass and rest it back down on a coaster.

"Well maybe if we weren't _sixteen_ , we wouldn't be having this discussion, now would we?"

Finnick rolled his eyes and took a large gulp from his class. Despite the caramel liquid burning all the way down, Finnick did not show any sign of it.

"Oh, I forgot she even had this one," Nick let out with excitement as he pulled an album from the shelf.

"Sticky Fingers? Damn, I haven't heard that one in ages."

Nick slowly removed the record from the sleeve and set it down on the platter. With the faintest _click_ has he set the stylus down in the groove, Nick grabbed his acoustic guitar from a nearby chair.

"Grab your keyboard Finn! We can play this song just like we used to, that is if you're not too drunk to coordinate your paws."

Finnick scoffed and sat down on a couch across from Nick with the expansive keyboard sprawled across his lap. Despite the cheap built-in speakers having long-since devolved into white noise, he had found a way to wire it to a portable speaker.

"If I remember correctly, this one is in the key of D Major," Finnick slurred out as he positioned his paws over the correct keys.

"Well, I guess you aren't completely inebriated just yet," Nick joked as he removed a pick from his wallet and tuned all his strings. Once he strummed the guitar and was satisfied with the sound it made, he nodded at Finnick and let the turntable spin.

 **Begin "Dead Flowers"**

There was silence at first, save for the occasional click or hiss of dust in the grooves. Suddenly, the room was filled with the lively strumming of an acoustic guitar, and Nick began to strum along with it. Shortly after, Finnick heard the keyboard enter and began playing. Although he stumbled on the first few notes, he soon gained control and found the muscle memory he thought had long-since faded into obscurity return.

As the first verse came in, Nick sang in time with Mick Jaguar. Despite being a city boy, he donned the faux country accent, just like the singer. As Nick's angelic voice echoed around the living room, Finnick stared at his friend in wonderment. No matter how many times they played together, Finnick could never seem to shake the chills he got from hearing Nick's voice and the delicate yet powerful way he strummed the guitar.

"I'll be in my basement room, with a needle and a spoon, and another girl to take my pain away…"

As the song went into the bridge, Nick skewed from the basic strumming pattern and began to pick out the individual notes the electric guitar was playing. Despite the two instruments having completely different tones and sounds, he managed to make them work together in absolutely flawless harmony. Finnick continued to let his fingers play every note. Despite months of not touching the instrument, he managed to hit every one of them perfectly. Occasionally, Nick would glance up and give him a smile. Not one brought on by the fifth of Jack the two had managed to consume in an afternoon, but one of genuine satisfactory and heavenly bliss.

"No, I won't forget to put roses on your grave…"

As the song ended, Nick plucked a few more individual strings and Finnick played a few more keys. The song faded to silence as they were once again met with the familiar pops and clicks of the dead wax in between tracks. Resting his guitar back in a nearby chair, Nick grabbed his glass and finished the remaining liquid in the bottom of it.

"Damn, Finn, I forgot how smoothly you can glide over those keys!"

Finnick let out a chuckle as he took another sip from his glass. He had to admit that even he was impressed with how well he had managed to play, despite being away from the instrument for so long.

"Aw c'mon, Nick. You and I both know that I can't touch you and those picking skills. The way you blended into the bridge was fantastic!"

 **Begin "Moonlight Mile"**

Before Nick could answer, the stylus moved into the next track on the record. The room was filled with the strums of an acoustic guitar, followed by the gentle playing of a piano.

"Oh hey, it's your sister's favorite song!"

After a moment, Finnick became aware of what he had just said. Nick avoided eye contact with him for a moment as his ears went flat against the back of his head.

"Jeez, Nick, I'm sorry. How's she been doing?"

Nick forced out a smile. Although he was unable to disguise the obvious pain, he tried his best to keep his composure.

"She's been doing better. We took her to a specialist in the City Center a couple of days ago. After hours of her being looked over and scanned multiple times, he told us that her tumor was curable. Thank God… it's curable…"

His voice trembled as he spoke the last view words while the pain attempted to fully grasp him.

"It's not going to be cheap though, is it," Finnick asked as he remained perfectly still in his chair.

Nick shook his head and looked in the direction of a family portrait hanging on the wall. He stood between his mom and sister with a large grin plastered on his face. That was the day they visited a national park outside the city limits. After the incident with the Scouts, his mom and sister tried to make him happy again. Although he had been reluctant at first, Nick recalled it as being one of the happiest days of his life. They went hiking, ate a picnic on top of a mountain where Zootopia was barely visible in the distance, and swam in an isolated watering hole. His mother had propped their camera on a rock and set the timer as they stood with their ankles in the cool, crystal-clear water.

"No, it won't be cheap. It's not like we expected anything different though."

"So how are you guys going to pay for it?"

Nick glanced to a book shelf on the opposite side of the room. On the freshly dusted shelf sat a jar of cash. On the outside of the frosted glass was a paper label Nick had written on years ago. It read _Rainy Day Money_. He had decided to add his own personal touch to it by drawing storm clouds and lightning bolts around the wording.

"We have almost five-thousand dollars saved up in that jar. Albeit that'll only cover a fifth of the cost, it's still somewhere to start."

Nick paused for a moment to wipe a tear from his eye. Normally, he would hate for his best friend to see him cry, but he did not care at this point.

"Then again, that's going off the assumption that she'll be cured after only one round of treatment. The doctor said that most people who come in with her condition typically need two or three, and sometimes four if it's bad enough."

Nick closed his eyes for a moment and let out a long, strained breath. For a brief period, Finnick sat in silence and had no idea what to say until a realization came over him.

"I'll get a job."

Nick looked up in confusion. He gave his friend a questioning look which begged him to elaborate.

"I'll still do the pawpsicle hustles with you, but you go ahead and keep all the money."

Nick opened his mouth to say otherwise, but was met with Finnick holding up a paw in protest.

"I make plenty enough on other jobs to sustain a living. I know that the pawpsicle runs doesn't make nearly as much as some of our other jobs, but it seems to me that every little bit will help."

"Finn, I… I don't know what to say."

In the distance, he heard someone stir and walk towards the stairs. Soon enough, his sister emerged at the top and poked her head down into the living room.

"I thought I heard someone playing my favorite song," she exclaimed with excitement as she hurried down the steps and rubbed sleep from her eyes.

"Oh, hey Susan. I thought you were going to be sleeping after we got home."

"Well I did for a couple of hours, but woke up and couldn't fall back asl-"

She cut her explanation short as she caught site of the nearly empty liquor bottle sitting on the floor between the two of them. Shaking her head with a small grin pulling at the corner of her lips, she walked over and picked up the bottle.

"I thought mom kept her cabinet locked?"

Finnick sprang to life as he attempted to cover for his friend.

"I'm actually the one who bought it, and it was mainly for myself! Nick only drank a little bit and it was because I pressured him into it."

Susan stepped forward and studied her brother's face closely.

"Even if I were to believe that you forced him to start, it seems that he wanted to continue. Judging by those red eyes, he's drunk as a skunk."

She let out a joyful laugh and over to the bookshelf. Grabbing the old camera from it, she pointed it in their direction.

"Alright you two, grab those instruments and booze glasses and huddle together. I want a good picture of this."

Nick and Finnick looked at each other with confusion, and then with hesitation.

"Please, Susan, don't tell mom. We promise this won't happen again Finnick can go home and I'll go straight to bed."

Susan laughed again.

"Oh please. I'm not going to tell on you. Everyone wants to unwind every once in a while. I just want a picture of the two of you so I can remember this."

Nick and Finnick glanced at each other. Deciding that this was not a matter worth fighting, they each grabbed their instrument and glass of whiskey. They sat on the floor in front of the record shelf and donned the best smile an inebriated mammal could. Susan aligned herself at the right angle and put the camera up to her eye.

"Alright you guys, say cheese!"

The two of them didn't say a word and instead held up their glasses and put their arms around each other. Susan snapped the photo and a white light illuminated the room.

* * *

Nick sat in the back of a ZPD van with his legs dangling over the threshold. In his paw, he held the picture his sister had taken of him and Finnick all those years ago. After she passed, he had gone into her room to find it. Although his mother wanted nothing in there to be disturbed, he felt he could make an exception for the photo. He had made a digital copy of it a few years prior but kept the original in his wallet. It had been creased with time and the corners bent and edges worn. Now, the photo was covered in a couple of small stains where Nick's tears had landed on the surface.

"Nick?"

The fox looked up to find Judy slowly approaching him. Her ears, which usually were perked up straight above her head, were now laying flat. She reached out and placed a paw on his knee in hopes of comforting him. His eyes slowly traveled from the photo to meet her gaze. Slowly, he placed his paw over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I wasn't prepared for this."

Judy did not respond to his comment. She simply stood in silence and waited for him to elaborate. Before speaking again, Nick took in a deep breath and let it out slowly and shakily.

"I knew from the beginning that there was a possibility of this happening. Even though I knew we ran the risk, I didn't prepare myself for it."

Nick starred at the restaurant to his left. The doors were left open to let investigation teams and officers into the scene, but lengths of yellow tape still slithered around the entrance posts. Chief Bogo stood just outside directing officers and did his best to avoid eye contact with the two of them for as long as possible. Onlookers were directed away from the scene as they gawked at the multitude of ZPD vehicles.

"I have no one to blame but myself. I knew, deep down inside, that something like this was always possible, but I still doubted it. I was so sure that even if someone attempted to take him, that we would stop them…"

Once again, Nick looked over to the restaurant where, just minutes before, Finnick had been sitting down and enjoying lunch. Now, the chair sat empty. A faint chill hung in the air as a small gust of wind caused dead leaves to play on the faded asphalt.

"Excuse me."

Nick and Judy looked up to find Chief Bogo standing a respectable distance behind them. He cleared his throat and approached slowly.

"I know this is difficult, but we need to discuss the seriousness of this matter."

The two of them gave the water buffalo their full, undivided attention and motioned for him to continue.

"First of all, we've been informed by the heads of this operation that your friend's tracking device has stopped functioning. For whatever reason, they have been unable to get a reading on his vitals or location. They've said this could be caused by certain materials blocking our signals, or the device has been removed. For whatever reason, we're working on locating the vehicle using Zootopia's traffic cameras."

Officer Wolfard came up behind the chief and motioned for him to step aside. After excusing himself for a minute, Bogo leaned down and listened to what the wolf had to say. At first, he slowly nodded his head every once and a while. Then, Judy noticed his eyes slightly widened and his ears perk.

"Carrots?"

Judy looked up to Nick, who was still staring at the restaurant with emotionless eyes. She noticed a tear slowly travel down the fur of his face.

"I want you to make me a promise."

She nodded.

"There are few mammals I've been able to trust throughout my life. With Finnick gone, hopefully not permanently, all I'm left with is you and my mother. I want you to promise me that if this turns as bad as I fear it can, you'll be there for me."

"Nick, I was always going to be there for you, no matter what happens."

"What I mean is that I'm going to be a complete mess if this goes completely down the drain. No matter how bad I get, I want you to promise that you'll be there to help me. I'll need the help of a close friend, of someone I deeply love, to make it through this."

Judy quickly jumped up into the back of the van next to him and locked lips with him. Nick's eyes fluttered shut as his arms wrapped around Judy's small form. As quickly as it started, Judy broke their embrace and ran the back of her paw over his cheek. The wetness of his tears soaked into her fur.

"I promise that no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, Nick."

All of a sudden, Bogo stepped in their direction and demanded their attention. The two of them jumped down from the van and hurried in front of their commander.

"What is it, Chief?"

Bogo rubbed the bridge of his nose. His eyes stared down at the ground, as if his mind was still attempting to process what he had just been told.

"Someone wants to have a word with the two of you. He refuses to talk to anyone but you, and swears he has information that could help us."

Nick and Judy exchanged confused glances. Up until now, the case had no leads save for the kit they had recovered a few days prior. Even then, investigators were unable to get nay useful information out of him. Now, the possibility of lead filled Nick with the smallest glimmer of hope. He crossed his arms over his chest and flipped down his sunglasses.

"Well… who is it?"

As Nick and Judy walked down the concrete corridor, their footsteps bounced off the walls and echoed back in their ears. Florescent lights hummed overhead and bathed the area in a pure white glow. Nick looked to the side as they passed by high security containment cells. While most were empty, some had inmates residing inside. Up until now, all of theme just sat on a bed or with their back to the wall and followed Nick, Judy and their escorting guard with soulless eyes. As they passed by another occupied cell, the jaguar inside charged at them. While Judy jumped back slightly, Nick kept his cool composure. With his eyes hidden behind his aviators, he watched as the inmate twirled a marker in his hand and went back to drawing mysterious symbols on the wall.

"What exactly are these animals in here for? They seem to not be as playful as the ones we throw in the regular jail."

The tiger who was escorting them down the hall scoffed at the question.

"Where the hell do I even begin? That one back there is a former cult leader who got a life sentence for assisting in the murders of twelve different animals in the Rainforest District about seven years ago. He used to scream to himself and drive all of us mad, so we had to give him something to write on the walls with. The only safe thing is that marker. Whenever he fills the space on the wall, we wash it all off and he starts over again. We take pictures every time he does it, but they don't seem to mean anything."

They passed by another cell which contained a sheep. He smiled at them and waved as if they were neighbors. He then looked back down at his book and continued to read.

"He's in here for abducting prostitutes and dismembering them in his basement. He thought he was clever for burying them under concrete in the slabs of houses he constructed. It seemed to work out well for ten or so years until one of the buildings needed structural repair. The contractors found it odd that there were bones mixed into the slab."

Judy winced at the though of this and kept her head straight forward. Even though the animal in the next cell they passed by pounded on the thick glass, she kept her eyes focused ahead.

"The two of you need to understand that everyone who's in here has committed a sinister act at one point or another. Don't let any of their looks deceive you."

They finally came to a stop in front of a cell at the end of the hallway. A small piece of paper with a printed name had been slid into a frame mounted on the door.

 _Jack Savage_

Judy's eyes went wide and she looked over to Nick. Even with his sunglasses down, she could tell he wanted her to not show any emotion. She took in a deep breath let it out slowly. Raising her paw, she hesitated before softly rapping on the door with her knuckles.

Jack sat up from his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As he squinted in their direction, he hopped down from the bed and slowly made his way to the door. The only things in his room were the bed, a toilet, and a picture of his mother hanging above the sink. He stood directly in front of the glass and gave Judy a smile that sent a chill down her spine and made her fur stand on end.

"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde… I'm so glad you made it. We have quite a lot to discuss."

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	16. The Most Cursed of Hands

This chapter uses the song "A Nightmare Reimagined" by Joseph LoDuca

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The Most Cursed of Hands**

An awkward silence hung in the air as Jack stood grinning from ear to ear at Nick and Judy. Behind the thick piece of glass separating them, he motioned for the security guard to leave him and the two officers alone. The tiger glanced down to Nick, who nodded. With that, the officer walked down the hallway.

"We're alone, just like you wanted, Savage," Nick said with the most monotone voice he could muster. "We've come here to talk, and nothing else. The second you try to pull a trick of any kind, we leave. Do I make myself clear?"

"You act as if I'm not to be trusted, Officer Wilde."

"Well, after we had you arrested in Bunny Burrow, the police found over a dozen bodies buried in a pit in the woods behind your home. I would consider that a legitimate reason to be skeptical of trusting you."

Jack cocked an eyebrow, and his foot began to tap lightly against the concrete floor his cell.

"Maybe it fits your definition of being untrustworthy, but the others in this building would beg to differ."

Judy sneered and stepped closer to the glass. Lifting a finger, she taped on it to try and receive his attention.

"We're not here to have a comparison of morals, Mr. Savage. If you don't start talking, we'll leave."

Jack broke eye contact with Nick and glared down at her. Despite being the same species, he still stood over her by a considerable amount. Judy could feel her insides churn with fear but managed to hold her stance and appear unaffected.

"Keep in mind, Officer Hopps, that I am not trying to benefit from this. From what I understand, I am, quite possibly, your last chance of making any sort of advancement in this case. So, either you treat your only possible lead with some respect, or I don't talk, and more children go missing."

Judy slowly let her finger fall from the glass. As much as she hated to admit, he was right. She never thought the day would come when a mass murder would be able to hold leverage over her.

"What do you want anyway," Nick asked from behind her. "I find it hard to believe that out of the blue, you suddenly feel the need to positively contribute to society without any sort of benefit."

Jack looked up at Nick once more. He knew that the topic would come up in their conversation eventually, but he didn't expect this soon.

"I find it a little insulting that you think so little of me, Officer Wilde. Granted, my past does warrant some suspicion, but keep in mind that I'm not a complete monster."

Nick kept his composure and simply glared at Jack. An awkward silence hung in the air as the only thing that could be heard was the hypnotic hum of the florescent lights and another inmate mumbling gibberish to himself.

"I didn't come here to argue about your morals, Savage. You said you had information that could help us with this case. We're here for that, and only that."

Jack rolled his eyes and let out an obvious sigh of frustration.

"Do you have access to all of the case files?"

Judy pulled her phone from a pocket and logged into the server which held all the case files. After searching for a moment, she found the subfolder containing all the information regarding the abductions.

"All of them are right here. I thought you would be giving us new information. How is any of this going to be helpful?"

Jack turned to Judy, although he was no longer wearing a look of disgust. Instead, she found an unsettling evil lurking behind those eyes.

"You'd be surprised how much information you cops tend to overlook. There were a small handful of instances when I was sloppy with my crimes. I expected the Bunny Burrow Police to break down my door any day, but that day never came, at least, until you two showed up. Even then, I was brought down by something as stupid as an expired vehicle inspection sticker."

"Are you going to continue trailing off, Savage, or is there actually a point to all of this," Nick asked with his arms crossed over his chest.

Jack scowled and glared at Nick. Despite this, the fox held his position and looked back with a glare just as fierce. The rabbit had finally met his match.

"My _point_ is that there are sometimes obvious clues that you simply overlooked. All it really takes is a different set of eyes to spot it."

Judy held up a paw in protest as she placed the phone screen flat against her chest.

"If you think we're going to allow you to look at sensitive case material, then you're sorely mistaken, Mr. Savage. We don't have any reason to believe that yo-"

"That I'll what," Jack interrupted. "That I'll try and use this information for my own betterment? Think about it, Officer Hopps. I'm locked in a glass box for the rest of my life with basically nothing to do and nowhere to go expect the damn lavatory. The highlight of my day is seeing a guard walk past me and, if I'm lucky, we'll make eye contact."

Jack walked closer to Judy. Despite being behind two inches of bulletproof glass, his presence still managed to instill the slightest sense of fear in her. Without her realizing, Judy slowly began to shrink back and lower her ears.

"I have nothing to lose and nothing to gain at this point in my life. Part of my sentencing was that I was allowed no visitation. You two are the first fresh faces I've seen in months."

Nick stood at attention with his face completely neutral. He knew Jack stood no chance of making any sort of attack, but his body had grown accustomed to always being prepared to take action should a situation arise.

"I have absolutely nothing to gain from this conversation, Officer Hopps. I'm doing this because the few minutes we'll be talking may be the last time I have conversation with someone for days, weeks, months, years… So, I don't want you to act like I'm going to manipulate this meeting in any way shape or form."

Jack ceased speaking and looked at Judy with a burning intensity. From the way she attempted to hide her fear, he could tell he had gotten through to her.

"What if we give you visitation time with your mother?"

Both the bunnies turned to face Nick. For the first time since they had begun speaking to him, Jack's face was plastered with a genuine look of surprise.

"Did I hear you correctly, Officer Wilde?"

"Yes, you did. I'm prepared to offer you visitation time with your mother in exchange for your assistance on this case. Granted, how often and for how long will be worked out later in conjunction with the prison, but I can promise you that Officer Hopps and I will make that happen."

Jack's bottom lip quivered, and he quickly stopped it. He thought he would never be able to see his mother ever again.

"I know how much you worry about her, Jack. Despite the horrible crimes you've committed, the fact that you sent her money each month says something about your character. Although Chief Bogo may not like the way I negotiate, he's not here right now."

Jack stuttered as he tried to speak.

"Ho-… How did you know I sent her money?"

"Because when I was running scams, I would do the same thing. Every month, I would send my mother two thousand dollars. I never told her where the money came from, and she didn't need to know. I was going through your bank statements to see if we could find any transactions that would tie other animals in with your operation. That's when I noticed that you withdrew the same amount of money each month, and it would always be deposited into the same account. It wasn't difficult for me to find the owner of that account."

Jack continued to stare at Nick in absolute bewilderment. All his life, his one weakness had always been his mother, but her never let anyone know that. Now that Nick had struck an emotional chord, Jack let down his defenses and fully opened himself up.

"I just wanted to make sure that she would be alright, Officer Wilde. There's no one in this world I love more than her."

"Then you'll be happy to know that she's still receiving that money. It took a lot of sucking up, and I really do mean _a lot_ , but I convinced Chief Bogo to not seize all your assets. There's still enough in your account to supply your mother for twenty years. Should she pass before that time has elapsed, the remainder will be donated to the Bunny Burrow Medical Research Center. I noticed that you spent a lot of money there ten or so years ago, so I'm assuming that was some sort of treatment for her."

Jack scratched behind his ears as his nose twitched and his feet thumped lightly on the ground.

"Why are you doing this for me, Officer Wilde?"

"Because I know that despite all the horrendous things you've done, there's still just the smallest bit of good inside of you. Every part of me wants to doubt that, but there must be some amount of sympathy in that dark heart of yours. For the longest time, no one treated you right, but I'm going to change that. I'm willing to show you something you haven't known for a very long time, Savage, and that's kindness."

Judy turned to Nick and studied his face. He remained emotionless, but she knew that inside, he was having difficulty keeping his emotions down. His mother had always been a sensitive subject, which made it even more surprising that Nick had brought her up at all.

"Do we have a deal, Savage?"

Jack kept his face pointed away from Nick. He rubbed his face with his paws in a hidden attempt to wipe away tears.

"We have a deal."

"Good. Now, Officer Hopps is going to show you anything from the case files that you want to look over. You're not allowed to handle the device in your cell, for obvious reasons, but she can scroll through things for you and hold it up to the glass."

Nodding in agreement, Jack stepped forward and motioned for Judy to open the files.

"Has evidence been recovered from any of these cases that gave prior knowledge that the kidnapping was about to occur?"

"Not to our knowledge," Nick let out with a sigh. "None of the victims have anything in common. They're simply swept up from the streets and never heard from again. Well, that is until a couple of days ago."

With this last sentence, Jack turned in Nick's direction and gave him an expression which asked for further explanation.

"We had a lion cub dropped off at the station. We're still looking for any possible leads as to who it was, but so far, we have nothing. When I was interviewing him, we decided to bring his parents into the room. What followed was him brutally attacking them. He was screaming how much he hated them…"

Nick trailed off as he began to vividly imagine the scene that had unfolded in front of his very eyes that night. He could still remember every detail: the blood on the cub's claws, the look of pure, petrifying fear in the father's eyes, and tears streaming down the mother's face.

"Officer Wilde, are you positive that the cub wasn't on any sort of hallucinogenic drugs or other medication? Such erratic behavior without the aid of a strong substance sounds quite impossible."

Judy chimed in as she swiped through the toxicology report on her phone.

"We didn't find anything in his system. The only medication he had was a standard allergy pill and…"

Her voice was suddenly cut off as she stared at the screen in bewilderment.

"Well, this is new. According to this, he was giving a small dose of something called Alocane on the bottom of both feet. I'm not sure why we weren't informed of this. What the hell is it?"

"It's a burn medication."

Nick and Judy both turned in Jack's direction with confused glances.

"Alocane is topical medication, so it's not meant to treat anything too severe. Whatever the cause of those burns was, I want you to find out. That could easily be an overlooked clue."

Judy quickly typed a message to the honey badger in charge of the ZPD medical clinic. Although she had likely left the office an hour ago, she hoped she would answer an email marked as _urgent_. In the meantime, Jack turned his attention back to Nick.

"Now, back to the cub attacking his parents. From what you've told me, Officer Wilde, these actions were committed by his own free will. Unless there was an unknown, invisible force causing him to do so, we have no reason to believe otherwise."

"There must be some ulterior motive that caused him to do that. I find it hard to believe that a child would just suddenly form a hatred for his parents. My theory on all of this is that our criminal is returning children back, but they don't act like they used to. There's nothing worse than having your kid back, but his mind and emotions are gone."

Jack opened his mouth to respond but did not find an answer immediately at the ready. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed as he contemplated what Nick had suggested.

"Are you suggesting that these children are undergoing some form off… mental manipulation?"

"Well, we've only found one of them, but it seems like a logical assumption that the others would be returned in the same condition. Granted, this is all speculation, but we really have nothing else to go with. We've reached the end of the line, and we're hoping you can notice something that we didn't."

Jack kept his eyes pointed at the floor. The more he thought, the higher his ears perked on his head. Occasionally, one would twitch. Behind his icy, light blue stare, Nick was unable to tell what exactly he was thinking.

"Have either of you heard of Samuel Frost," Jack asked with his eyes still pointed down at the floor.

Nick and Judy looked at each and shrugged. Before they could tell Jack no, he continued.

"It seems that most mammals have forgotten about him already. I'm not surprised, but we can come back around to that later. Samuel Frost was a snow leopard who committed some of the most horrific crimes I can recall. He did murder around fifteen mammals from all different species, but that's not what set him apart in my book. What made him notable was his experimentation with his victims before killing them.

You see, Frost had this sick desire to turn mammals into a functioning outer shell but leave the mind a blank slate. He had developed plans to sell them off as sex toys or work slaves. However, he never seemed to get the results he so much desired. I won't go into the details too much, but you can look them up during your own free time. You should have access to the records."

"I think I'll pass…" Judy let out with a disgusted sigh.

"There was a video broadcast during his trial. This was before laws were passed against filming in the courtroom. During the last day before the jury would break for deliberation, something happened. When the police raided his home, they found one child still alive. All the rest had been buried in the backyard or dissolved in steel drums in his basement."

Judy shut her eyes and attempted not to vomit. Even Nick let out a heavy sigh as he imagined the horrific scenes that the ZPD had uncovered.

"This child was brought to the stand to testify. The plaintiff believed that if such a young child related his traumatizing experience to the court, then Frost may be given the death penalty. However, when the child began to speak, Frost –"

"I found it."

Jack and Nick turned to Judy, who had pulled up a video clip on her phone.

"The ZPD digitized their archives not too long ago, so it took me a while to sort through everything from that trial, but I think I found just what you're talking about."

The clip began with the camera zoomed in on a bear cub. He sat at the witness box with the microphone lowered to his level. As he spoke into the microphone about the conditions he was forced to live in, Frost could be seen in the bottom corner of the screen. He slowly leaned forward before clearing his throat. The camera now swung down and zoomed in on his massive form. The judge, bailiff, and jury all turned in his direction. Before anyone could respond to his small outburst, he spoke only three words.

"Now, my child."

The cub sat up straight. The camera now panned back to the bear as he slowly began to shake. A ZPD officer in attendance slowly approached the witness stand and held out a paw in comfort. Then, the cub leaped from his seat and darted across the courtroom floor. As he dove under the plaintiff's table and into the spectator area, the camera followed. The last thing captured before the feed was cut, was the cub mauling another bear. The screen went black and Judy gave Jack a confused look.

"What on Earth happened?"

Jack looked up from the floor and gave Judy a blank stare.

"He attacked his parents."

Nick's eyes went wide as he turned to Judy, He had been able to keep a solid composure the entire time, but this had finally broken him.

"Just like what you and Officer Wilde experienced that cub do, this incident was all the same. That's why I thought of Samuel Frost. It appears that these incidents are one in the same."

Judy shook her head in astonishment.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Isn't this Frost guy still in prison?"

"Not necessarily, Officer Hopps. After his trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Howarth Mental Institution. It was a facility designed to hold the most dangerous mammals in permanent captivity. It's since shut down when it made the news about the decrepit living conditions of that place."

"So, what happened to Frost," Nick asked with genuine curiosity burning in his tone.

"From what I remember, he never made it there. His transport vehicle lost control and crashed into a frozen lake. The facility was on the distant outskirts of Tundra Town, so the roads leading there were narrow, winding paths. The ZPD planned on sending a team to the bottom of the lake, but it was deemed too much of a hazard until the natural winter cycle ended. With time, however, the ZPD became occupied with more important ordeals. Frost and the driver of the vehicle were legally considered deceased and the case was closed."

"Just wait a minute," Nick said with an obvious hint of aggravation in his voice. "So, what you're telling me is that they never actually found his body? For all we know this sick fuck could still be alive."

Judy was tempted to scold Nick on his use of such language but decided against it.

"My thoughts exactly, Officer Wilde. It appears as though we don't think too differently."

"Don't get too friendly with me, Savage. I'm not going to be lumped into the same group as some psychopath who buried mammals in a pit in his backyard."

Jack's brow furrowed as he took personal offense to the statement. Judy could feel the tension growing between them and attempted to alleviate it.

"How come the public didn't raise an issue with this? You'd think that people would be mortified at the thought of a monster possibly still being alive out there."

Jack broke his gaze with Nick and turned to Judy.

"Do you really think the general public is legitimately concerned about their well-being, Officer Hopps? To them, the Frost trial was nothing more than their weekly entertainment. As soon as the circus was over, they moved on to the next sick little freak show to come across their television screens. We may be evolved, but deep down inside, we still have that need for something demented to satisfy out desires."

 **Begin "A Nightmare Reimagined"**

The hallway went quiet as Jack spoke the last few words. Even some of the inmates who had been muttering to themselves or banging against the wall ever since they had arrived, were now silent. The neon lights above still hummed, but Nick swore they had gotten quitter, as if to listen in on the conversation.

"How do we find him?"

Jack and Nick both turned to Judy. While Nick gave her a look of confusion, Jack scoffed and attempted to brush off her statement as nothing more than a joke.

"If you really think it will be a simple task to locate a mass murder who has been in hiding for nearly twenty-five years, then you're really underestimating the severity of what you two are about to undertake. Frost doesn't want to be found, and I can guarantee you that he's spent those last twenty-five years covering his tracks from every possible direction."

"I don't care, Savage. This is the only possible lead we've gotten in months. It doesn't matter how impossible or far-fetched it seems, we're going to take it. Now tell us, Savage, how do we find him?"

If the setting of their conversation had not been inappropriate, Nick would've have given his bunny a round of applause for such a demanding statement. Jack's demeanor went back to expressionless as he admired the authority Judy had spoken with.

"My only guess is to find someone who was directly involved with his mental examination. Perhaps a ZPD officer who interviewed him, or maybe the court-appointed psychiatrist. That's all I can give you since the two of you should have access to all those names."

Nick stepped to Judy and placed his arm around her waist. As he led her back towards the exit, he flipped his sunglasses down to avoid eye contact with the other inmates.

"Don't forget our deal, Officer Wilde."

Nick turned to Jack and nodded before continuing down the hallway. As much as Nick wanted to shudder, he could not let Jack see he had gotten to him. Taking help from a mammal who lacked a conscience shook Nick to his core, but he was not going to let that be known. The two of them walked past the other inmates on their way out. The whole time, their ears were assaulted with unnatural screams.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	17. Regress

This chapter uses the songs "Lights Out" by John Carpenter, and "Humanity, Pt. 1" by Ennio Morricone.

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Regress**

Nick picked up his drink that had been resting on arm of the couch. The air had begun to condense on the sides of the glass, leaving a small ring of water on the white fabric. He wiped it with the back of his sleeve and sipped the bittersweet brandy.

"You were right, Carrots, this really is better than that other brand I've been buying. Where did you say it came from?"

Judy looked up from her cutting board and glanced at the bottle still sitting on the kitchen counter.

"The label says it's made in a place near the Rainforest District called Patto. Never heard of it before."

"Neither have I, but they sure do make a damn fine brandy."

Nick took another sip and swirled the ice cubes in the bottom of the glass around. Looking back down at the folder open in his lap, he glanced at the set of photographs paperclipped inside. Judy had originally thought that all ZPD records had been digitized, but a few boxes had been skipped. Just as Nick had suspected, the files dealing with all personnel associated with the Frost case were still sitting in a box in the musty basement. Despite the long process to check out physical evidence, Chief Bogo had instructed them to take the box and get started immediately. Time was precious.

"Why don't you put some music on, Nick," Judy asked while sliding a pile of diced potatoes into a bowl.

Nick rolled his eyes and smiled in her direction. He closed the folder and placed it back on top of the box of numerous other files. Walking to his record shelf, he scanned the spines before stopping. He pulled one out of the sleeve and dropped the record down on the turntable. As the stylus tracked the groove of the selected song, Nick turned the dial of his amplifier and watched the signal strength climb on the VU meters.

The room was filled with the soft opening piano as Nick mimicked the movements with his paws. Judy, on the other hand, set down her knife and walked into the living room to turn down the volume. As she passed, Nick grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. He moved his feet to the rhythm, motioning for her to do the same.

"Come on, Nick. You know some of the neighbors don't like us being an interspecies couple, and this surely doesn't help."

Nick chuckled and continued to move them in time to the music around the living room. Although Judy attempted to make a getaway, her efforts were fruitless.

"This is hardly the type of music that would upset them, so they really shouldn't mind. Now stop trying to ruin the fun and join me."

Judy scoffed at the notion as she attempted once more to escape.

"Even if that is true, I don't think they would appreciate you shaking their walls with it."

"Well, you and I did that the other night, and they didn't seem to mind."

Judy placed a paw over her mouth not only to stop the laughter from escaping, but to stop Nick from seeing her smile.

"You're disgusting, you know that?"

Nick nodded with pride, as if accepting some kind of award.

"I take pride in my work, Ms. Hopps. The fact that it gets you off sometimes is merely an unconsidered side effect."

Judy playfully punched him in the shoulder as her laughter finally escaped. Despite wanting to turn down the volume, Judy decided it was best to not argue with her fox. She ceased resisting and let the music take her.

She found herself leaning closer in to Nick. Soon enough, her face was nestled into the crook of his shoulder. As the music continued, they swayed back and force to the beat. Judy could hear Nick's heart softly beating in his chest, and it brought a peaceful feeling. Since Finnick's abduction, this was the first time they had danced together. Nick had made it almost like a routine for them to dance each night, but he had spent the last week to himself. He had not ignored Judy but did not go out of his way to be overly affectionate. She did not blame him, considering the situation. If it took a couple of drinks for her fox to finally start acting like himself again, she was all for it.

"I love you, Judy."

She opened her eyes and looked up at her fox. It was almost as if Nick had been reading her thoughts, and she honestly began to wonder if it were true.

"I know I've been closed up these past few days, and it's really been unfair to you. It's just that… I… I don't wa-"

Nick was cut off as Judy placed a finger over his lips.

"It's okay, Nick. You don't need to explain yourself to me."

The two of them hung together in the moment as the music playing in the background slowly began to fade as they focused on each other.

"I know what happened to Finnick isn't easy on you. This whole case has been a real strain on the both of us, but I can feel it's hitting you especially hard."

Nick avoided eye contact with her for a split second. Even though he did not want to admit she was right, he had unknowingly done so.

"There's no need for you to explain yourself to me. I understand perfectly."

Before Nick had time to answer, Judy grabbed him by the collar and pulled his head down. She locked her lips with his and closed her eyes. Nick's slowly fluttered shut as his paws unknowingly wrapped around her waist. He found himself pulling her in closer with each passing second. Time seemed to come to a standstill around them as her lock with him became stronger and stronger. Despite the illusion of an eternity passing around them, the embrace seemed to end just as quickly as it started. Nick's eyes slowly opened, a faded image of Judy looking back up at him with a blissful grin.

"To answer your earlier statement, I love you too, Nick.

She grabbed his paw in hers and stroked the fur before placing it to her cheek. Nick let it rest there as she nuzzled his palm.

"More than you may ever know…"

… _ring…ring…_

They both glanced at the couch cushion as Nick's phone screen illuminated. He squinted to read the number, and his eyes immediately went wide. He ran over and quickly answered the call.

"Hello, Dr. Strode! Thank you so much for returning my call."

Despite her above-average hearing, Judy was only able to make out small tidbits of the conversation.

"Yes…"

 _More chatter from the other caller._

Nick glanced down at his watch.

"Can you give us half an hour?"

There was a pause before the individual on the other end spoke once more.

"Great! We'll be there as quick as we can."

Nick hung up and quickly grabbed his coat from the back of a nearby chair. As he hurriedly pushed his arms through the sleeves, Judy continued to stand in the middle of the living room in confusion. He scurried to the record shelf to grab his sunglasses before stopping the record and lowering the dust cover.

"You know, Nick, I exist."

"Sorry, Carrots, but I think that was the break we've been waiting for."

She placed a paw on her hip and gave him a questioning and doubting glance.

"Oh really? And just who may that be?"

Nick turned to his bunny and smiled as he ran to the kitchen to fetch the car keys.

"That would be Frost's court-appointed psychiatrist," Nick said with a hint of smugness in his tone as he swung the keyring around on a finger.

Judy's mouth hung ajar as she followed Nick to the door. Before leaving, he quickly finished off his drink and set the glass down on the wet bar.

"How on Earth did you find his contact information? I assumed he had been wiped from the records when we couldn't find anything on him after Frost's trial."

Nick pointed to the folder he had been looking through earlier and the box it sat upon.

"It took a few days of digging, but I was able to find out that he had asked to put into some kind of witness protection program after the transportation van crashed in Tundra Town. I'm not sure why, but we can ask him that when we get there. Now let's hurry. He lives all the way out in a suburb between the forest perimeter and Bunny Burrow."

Before Judy had time to digest the information, she found herself being pushed out the door by Nick. They hurried down the hallway, skipping the elevator and zooming down the stairwell instead. As they raced through the parking garage, some animals stopped and stared. The two officers paid them no attention as they quickly climbed into Nick's Jeep and pulled out onto the main road.

For the entire ride there, Nick spent that time catching Judy up on everything he had found on Dr. Strode from the ZPD archives. Shortly after Frost's trial, the psychiatrist had asked to be put into a witness protection program. Although the paperwork for the request failed to mention a reason, Nick could only assume it was to get away from the eye of every news camera in Zootopia. Other than that, all he could find were a few random documents describing other patients Dr. Strode had been seeing years prior to the Frost trial.

"So that's it," Judy asked with an obvious tone of confusion. "He just vanished off the face of the Earth?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm hoping Dr. Strode can answer exactly why he went into hiding. Hopefully, he'll answer that question and any others we have about Frost."

"And if he doesn't," Judy asked as she watched the passing trees.

The car remained silent for a moment as Nick continued to stare straight ahead.

"I don't know…"

As they finally drove within the city limits of River North, the towering pine trees gave way to shorter, yet no less beautiful, oak trees. Despite their lack of height, the mighty oaks hung over the road and dumped their autumn-tinged leaves onto the ground. Nick's Jeep hummed down the road and left leaves twirling in the air in his wake. The sunlight filtered through the branches and cast shifting shadows as the wind played through the trees.

"I've never seen a place like this before. The color of these trees is just something else," Judy let out as her head hung over the door. She let the wind catch her ears and send them flopping.

"That's because all the trees in Zootopia are evergreens. The city saves a ton of money every year by not having to worry about disposing of fallen leaves. Out here, however, each individual town can make their own decisions. River North decided to keep the streets lined with oak trees for this exact reason. In a couple of days, animals from Zootopia are going to flock here just to watch the leaves change."

Nick came to a stop at the intersection and glanced around at the street signs. Despite being left to the elements for years, the faded lettering was still legible.

"Here we go. He lives on Haddonfield Lane."

 **Begin "Lights Out"**

The Jeep made the turn and put the sun to their left. As more leaves were kicked up by their vehicle, Judy watched their shadow cascade over a sidewalk and passing mailboxes. Soon enough, Nick pulled the Jeep off to the side and parked against the curb. As the engine idled to a halt, Judy glanced around at the houses which lined the street. It was not a high-class neighborhood, but very few houses appeared to be less than two stories.

A deer pushed her baby down the opposite sidewalk in a stroller. As she passed by, Judy waved. The mother returned the gesture and continued down the path. Judy enjoyed her life in the city, but she hardly considered this neighborhood to be undesirable. Perhaps she could convince Nick to move here when they retired. It was between Bunny Burrow and Zootopia, so she didn't imagine having too much trouble winning him to her side.

"He said to press the buzzer at the front gate."

Judy snapped back to reality as she followed Nick's finger to a moderately sized hedge lining the sidewalk. From there, a walkway split off from the main sidewalk and lead to the front of the house, two brick columns supported a wrought iron gate. Nick outstretched his paw and pressed the silver button mounted to one of them. After a few seconds of silence, a voice crackled to life over a small speaker.

"Hello?"

"It's Officer Wilde and Officer Hopps."

The speaker cut off with a burst of static and the gate swung open with a mild creak. Nick and Judy did not hesitate as they quickly walked towards the front steps of the home. Just like the streets, autumn leaves coated the lawn in a thick blanket of orange, yellow and brown.

"Considering that the lawn doesn't seem to be regularly maintained, I'm going to make the safe assumption that this guy doesn't get out much."

Judy glanced around and noticed an old wheelbarrow leaning against a tree. However long it had been sitting there for, it was enough time for vines to grow up through the wheels.

"It may be just like you said. He could've moved here just to get out of the public eye. If that's the case, it's no wonder he doesn't come out of his house."

They walked up the couple of steps leading to his porch. With each footstep, the faded boards creaked under their weight. Before one of them could ring the doorbell or knock on the door, it swung open. Standing before them was a thin, graying raccoon.

"Hurry inside, please," he said with an aged, yet smooth voice.

Neither of them argued. Nick and Judy hurried inside the home. The door shut behind them with a loud thud before the raccoon slid the deadbolt shut. Nick turned and outstretched his paw.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Strode. We greatly appreciate you taking time out of your day to meet with us."

He took Nick's paw and shook it quickly, his face remaining emotionless.

"Well, it's not like there's anything else useful I can do with my time."

Dr. Strode turned and shook Judy's paw before leading them towards the back of the house. The two of them followed close behind. As they passed by framed photos on the wall, Judy noticed just how spotless and clean every surface was. Despite the yard being less than desirable, at least he kept the inside clean.

"I should've known that someday, someone would come knocking at my door about this incident."

The raccoon pulled aside a curtain at the end of the hallway and revealed a sunroom on the other side. The entire front wall and ceiling consisted of glass panels. This allowed the room to be filled with natural light.

"I was just expecting it to be some news channel or someone wanting to do a documentary."

Light flooded into the room as the sun began to sink lower and lower towards the horizon. The whole space had been doused in a yellow hue. Dr. Strode motioned towards a set of couches in the center of the room. As Nick and Judy took a seat, he walked towards a wet bar against the wall opposite the windows.

"Can I get either of you something to drink? It's not often I have guests, so much of this stuff will just go to waste if someone doesn't drink it."

"I'll just have water. Thank you," Judy said while continuing to study the room.

"Do you have any brandy," Nick asked.

Dr. Strode scanned the shelf before selecting a dusty bottle from the top shelf. He wiped off the label and squinted at the gold lettering.

"A friend of mine brought this back from some distillery in another country. The place raves about using some rare fruit mash, so this better be good."

He cut the wax seal with a knife before removing the cap. As the gold liquid flowed over an ice cube and filled the bottom of a glass, it reflected the sunlight. Dr. Strode capped the bottle and carried their glasses to the sitting space.

"So, tell me, Officer Wilde, what has you so interested in me?"

Nick took a sip of the brandy and his ears perked on end. He was expecting the beverage to be good, but not this good.

"I need help understanding Samuel Frost."

The racoon swirled the ice cube in his glass around. As he did so, the amber liquid swished around and played off the sunlight again.

"What's there to understand? Does the ZPD not have every bit of information about him?"

"That's the problem, Doctor. We have mental test results and a few comments scribbled at the bottoms of pages, but that's not the same thing as your personal interactions with him."

"Why do you need to know this, Officer Wilde? Is the ZPD doing some television series for the local news? Because if they are, I can assure you that there are plenty more interesting cases than Samuel Frost."

Judy rested her glass on an end table and turned in Dr. Strode's direction.

"If there's any possibility of him being alive, we want your experiences with him."

The room went silent as the ice cube ceased swirling in the glass. At that moment, the wind died down. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle patter of leaves falling on the atrium.

"Samuel Frost died in a car crash in Tundra Town during his transfer to a maximum-security prison. If that's what you came all this way to talk about, then I regret to inform you that you have wasted your time."

"But as Officer Wilde told you on the phone, we have reason to believe that-"

Judy stopped midsentence and glared at Nick. He avoided eye contact and continued to sip from his glass.

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders and attempted to play off the incident.

"Damn it, Nick! When did you plan on telling him?"

"I was going to leave that up to you. You seemed to be doing a great job of that until deciding that attacking me should take priority."

Judy took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"I apologize for my partner not informing you of our situation, Dr. Strode. I know it may sound like a surprise to you, but we have reason to believe that Frost is still alive. He may be responsible for a series of disappearances in Zootopia over the past few months."

Frost took another sip from his glass but refused to look at Judy. Instead, he watched the autumn leaves tumbling in the air. There was a moment of silence as the two officers watched the racoon. He slowly stood from his seat and walked to the window.

"Do you know why I moved out here, Officer Hopps?"

Judy stumbled on her words before they finally left her mouth.

"Officer Wilde theorized that-"

"I'm well aware of his reasoning. Like most mammals, he probably thinks I came out here to avoid the media and any other people looking to make a quick buck off my story."

Nick's ears perked up as he finished off his brandy.

"I want to hear _your_ guess, Officer Hopps."

Dr. Strode kept his gaze pointed out the window.

"Well, I think you're running away from your past problems."

Unbeknownst to him, one of the racoon's ears twitched at this accusation. He played off his surprise by taking a sip from his glass and swirling the ice cube around in the bottom.

"What you just said is the same thing the rest of Zootopia believes. Samuel Frost died in a car crash while being transported to a prison. That should be the end of the story for everyone, including yourself, but I know that deep down inside, you have a fear that he's still alive."

Dr. Strode slowly turned to face Judy. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyes had become slightly wider. As he struggled to find words, he rested his glass down on a nearby table and leaned against a window frame.

 **Begin "Humanity, Pt. 1"**

"It's not a fear, Officer Hopps."

Nick leaned forward in anticipation.

"It's knowing that beyond any doubt, Frost is still alive. I don't have a fear of him. It's the same thing as handling a firearm. I am not afraid of a gun, but I am respectful of the power it holds. The same applies to Frost. I know just what he is capable of, and not treating such power with proper care can lead to dire consequences."

"You just don't have a confirmation of where he is," Judy said with full realization.

The racoon pointed in her direction and gave her a sly smile.

"That's exactly it, Officer Hopps. If he was currently locked away like what was originally intended, then I would still be living in Zootopia. However, that is not the case, and so, here we are."

He motioned around the room at the rays of sunlight penetrating through the thick branches of trees. The jagged shadows cast odd, yet beautiful shapes over the floor and furniture.

"Why is it that you never talked to anyone at the ZPD about your concerns," Nick asked. His glass remained sitting on an end table, forgotten in the moment of conversation.

"Oh, believe me, Officer Wilde, I made quite a few attempts to catch someone's attention. Every time, I was given the same response. Whether the officer I was talking to spoke to me in a respectful or irritated manner, I was always told that Frost was dead."

"Then how come we couldn't find any reports from the ZPD about you talking to officers after the trial?"

"I never actually sat down in a room and talked with anyone. I was either turned away before I could get past the reception desk, or I was met with irritation at the front door."

Dr. Strode walked towards the bar and began to pour himself another drink.

"After my attempts to grab the attention of the ZPD proved fruitless, I decided that turning to a news outlet was my next best solution. However, I was met with the exact same response from all those mammals. In the end, I decided this fight was no longer worth my time and that it would be best for me to move away from the city for a simpler life. The world didn't seem to care about Frost anymore. They had moved on to the next atrocity that rocked the news world."

Judy turned to Nick, who spoke before she even got the chance.

"It's just like what Savage said," Nick let out under his breath.

"Savage," Dr. Strode asked as he turned in their direction.

"Are you talking about that bunny who turned a ten-year arson sentence into life imprisonment for murdering those cops?"

"That's the one," Nick said while rolling his eyes.

"Now I know why your names rang a bell the first time I heard them."

Dr. Strode sat back down on the couch.

"Why on Earth were you talking to an animal that attempted to gun you down? It seems to me that he would be the last mammal you'd turn to for help."

Judy twiddled her thumbs and chose her next words carefully.

"He's the only lead we have at this moment. This is the first time in months that we may actually be headed somewhere with this case. Jack Savage is the reason we were led to your doorstep."

Dr. Strode scowled.

"You're telling me that the only reason you're here is because of some psychotic rabbit? Why on Earth would you take anything he says with even the slightest bit of seriousness?"

Not knowing what to say next, Judy stared at the ground. Tension filled the air as the awkward silence grew worse with each passing second.

"Is he wrong?"

The racoon turned in Nick's direction. The fox was starring at him with a fierce look of determination burning in his eyes.

"What do you mean, Officer Wilde?"

"I want to know if you think Jack Savage is telling the truth. Despite his less-than-reputable set of credentials, he's all we have right now. If his theory proves to be true and Frost really is still alive, then we're going to need your assistance from here on out."

Dr. Strode leaned back in his chair and drained his glass in one, swift gulp. The entire time, he never blinked or broke eye contact with Nick.

"I hate to admit it, but Savage may be correct in his assumption. If what I've believed for years is true and Frost is still out there, these crimes may be his doing. I'll need to see any evidence you've gathered and any you find in the future. If we find Frost and put him where he rightfully deserves, then I can finally have some peace of mind for the first time in decades."

He wiped the condensation from his paw onto his pants and extended his paw in Nick's direction.

"Do we have a deal?"

Nick grabbed his paw and shook it.

"We'll keep in touch with you, Dr. Strode. Now if you'll excuse us, Officer Hopps and I have to be going. We can arrange to have you meet us at the ZPD tomorrow."

Judy motioned for Nick to follow her out the room. As the fox stood up, he grabbed his coat from the back of a chair and slung it over his arm. As the heavy, solid door creaked open on its hinges, Dr. Strode cleared his throat. Both of them turned around to face the racoon who had once again turned to face out the window.

"Before you leave, I want to make sure of one thing. Do you two fully understand what you're dealing with?"

Nick and Judy gave each other confused glances, not exactly sure how to answer the question.

"We're dealing with a monster." Nick said with slight hesitation present in his tone.

"No, Officer Wilde. Jack Savage is a monster. Samuel Frost is beyond that word. Over the years, I've come to realize that evil walks the same soil as us."

He turned from the window and stared at Nick and Judy with a cold gaze. The sun had started to slip below the horizon, causing the sky to turn a yellowish orange. The light bathed the room in this color, giving Judy an uneasy feeling.

"For the months I knew him before the trial, Frost never showed any amount of remorse for what he had done. I'm not talking about a mammal that mocked victims or laughed when we discussed the details of his crimes. Every time I tried to evoke at least some sort of emotion out of him, he would sit still in his chair and stare straight ahead. He was never staring at me, or the wall or anything else. What he saw was more crimes that he could commit, more lives that he could ruin, more families that he could tear apart."

Dr. Strode came closer in their direction. With each step, his shadow shifted over furniture before landing right at Nick and Judy's feet.

"What you're dealing with is not a mammal that commits wrongful acts for joy or some sort of sick pleasure. Frost is an animal without a conscience. In his mind, there is no difference between right and wrong. Instead of having a small grey area between the two, his mind is a jumbled mess. It took me quite a long time to figure that out, and when I did, I asked the jury to send him away for life. Of course, they failed to see things from my perspective. They viewed him as someone who's mind had strayed off the path. However, I knew that his mind had never been on track. It's impossible to have a conversation with a mammal who has never known the concept of logical behavior or what it means to feel remorse. Evil walks this Earth with a body of flesh and blood, and I just hope that the two of you are prepared to face it when the time comes."

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	18. Have You Ever Seen the Rain

This chapter uses the song "Chariots of Pumpkins" by John Carpenter

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Have You Ever Seen the Rain**

Nick ran a paw through the orange fur on top of his head. His eyes had begun to grow bloodshot as the night continued to drag on at a sluggish pace, but no one in the room noticed. They were all likely too tired to notice, just like him. Judy sat next to him, Chief Bogo, and Dr. Strode were across the table. As the raccoon pointed at one of the numerous documents sprawled over the stainless-steel surface, Judy watched with curiosity.

"What about here," Dr. Strode asked as he turned the paper in Nick and Judy's direction.

They both glanced over the freshly printed document before nodding their heads in disappointment.

"If we're looking for Frost, then he's likely going to be somewhere cold. I'm still betting my money that he's in Tundratown," Nick stated as sleep began to creep up on him.

He glanced out the nearby window. Ever since the early afternoon, Zootopia had been pelted with a violent thunderstorm. The hours had ticked by at an almost painfully slow pace, yet the sheets of rain continued to unrelentingly douse the city.

"That's the most _likely_ place a snow leopard would be in hiding. I still stand by my reasoning that Frost has equipped his hideout with an artificial climate device. If that theory turns out to be true, then it gives him the ability to hide anywhere in Zootopia, or perhaps beyond city limits."

While Nick and Dr. Strode exchanged remarks on the legitimacy of such an idea, Judy turned to Chief Bogo. Sleep was beginning to wrap itself around her as well, and it wasn't until he waved a hoof in front of her face that she noticed him speaking to her.

"Believe me, Hopps, there's nothing I would want more right now than to be in bed, but we need to keep going. After today, time is even more crucial than before."

Judy rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced at the clock mounted on the wall. It's glass face read 1:32 AM, and it seemed to mock her lack of attention to the matter at hand. In the span of less than 24 hours since she and Nick met with Dr. Strode, another child had been kidnapped. This time, it was a jaguar cub from the Rainforest District. He had been taken during the violent thunderstorm, rendering any footage that wasn't jammed nothing more a view of heavy sheets of rain.

"And just what makes you so sure that he would be there," Dr. Strode questioned with an obvious hint of irritation in his voice.

Nick responded by throwing his paws up into the air.

"I'm not sure! It's past one in the morning, I can assume you're all like me and are about to drop dead of exhaustion, and we have yet another child missing. In case you can't tell, I'm just bouncing ideas around and seeing what sticks."

Dr. Strode sighed and massaged between his eyes. Over the course of the past few hours, his tail had slowly started to drop until it lay flat on the chair behind him. What had started as an enthusiastic discussion amongst the four of them had delved into a realization of just how little information they really had.

"I apologize for taking that tone with you, Officer Wilde. Like you said, it's late, and we're all tired. What do you say we just call it a night and come back in the morning? We're obviously not going to get anywhere at this rate, so let's just go home and come back with rested minds."

Everyone in the room remained silent for a moment. Although they had all been afraid to admit it, no one wanted to be there any longer.

"He's right. Let's just go home and pick this up in the morning. Maybe without the haze of sleep clouding our judgement, we can figure something out. Grab your stuff, Dr. Strode. Judy and I can drop you off at your hotel. It's on the way to our apartment."

The raccoon grabbed his coat draped over the back of his chair and began walking towards the door. He sipped the last remaining coffee in his mug, despite it being cold.

"Thank you for the offer, Officer Wilde. Although I know it's perfectly safe, I would still prefer to not ride public transportation at this hour. God only knows what kind of creeps you may find on there."

As everyone walked out the room, Chief Bogo locked the door so that no one could disturb their work laid out on the table. With a loud thud that echoed down the barren corridor, the door locked, and the four mammals slowly paced down the hallway. As their pads slapped onto the concrete floor, the sounds echoed all around them. During the day, the ZPD headquarters was constantly bustling with traffic. However, nightfall brought with it darkness, silence, and a kind of creepiness that made Judy slightly unsettled. Seeing every door and window dark, save for the occasional sickly glow of a computer monitor, made her feel uneasy.

"I appreciate you joining us tonight, Chief Bogo, but you really didn't have to go through the trouble of staying here so late with us," Dr. Strode said while slipping one his arms through the sleeve of his trench coat.

"It's really no trouble. This is hardly the first time I've been here this late."

While the two of them conversed, Nick wrapped his arm over Judy's shoulder. Without any other officers in sight, he was free to do as he pleased. Although most of the ZPD had welcomed their relationship with open arms, some were not so eager to embrace them.

"You know, Carrots, I'm sure that Bogo won't mind us sleeping in a little late tomorrow."

"He won't if he hears you refer to him without the title of _Chief_."

Nick rolled his eyes and pulled his bunny closer.

"It's not like I'm asking for much. Just an extra hour or two will be perfectly fine."

"Well, since it's all _your_ idea, you can be the one to ask him after he locks the front door. How does that sound, _Slick?_ "

Judy made sure to draw out the pronunciation of that last word as she nuzzled closer to him. Nick gave her a wink and bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead. Although the action was much tamer than what they did at home, he knew that even a simple kiss would have thrown some of the disapproving officers over the edge.

"If you two can stop being publicly indecent and walk faster, perhaps we'll make it home before the sun rises," Chief Bogo let out with the smallest hint of sarcasm he could muster.

Nick did not respond but quickened his pace towards the front entrance. Outside, there was a bright flash of lightning, followed by a rumble of thunder shortly afterwards. The entire lobby illuminated for a split second. It reminded Judy just how ominous the place was after hours, and it made her desire to leave even greater.

She bundled herself under Nick's arm as he opened the door. The September night air rushed in, causing leaves and a few droplets of rain to come in with it. Nick opened their umbrella and prepared to sprint for his Jeep. Dr. Strode did the same as Chief Bogo pulled the door behind him to make sure the lock had caught. He turned the deadbolt with a heavy key and prepared to brave the downpour.

"I'll see all of you again in the morning. Feel free to come in around nine. It won't do us any good to revisit those papers if we don't get enough sleep."

Nick silently celebrated a personal victory. He would be able to sleep in, and all without having to ask the Chief's permission to do so. Despite the gloomy weather, this seemed to brighten up his spirits just enough to force a small smile across his lips.

"Let's just hope this all ends soon. It was both mentally and physically exhausting when we were trying to catch Frost the first time. Now we're having to do it all over again."

Judy had noticed a text message from her mother and had begun responding when Chief Bogo spoke. As she played over his last words in her head, it made her ears stand on end. She looked up from the message she had been typing and starred at Bogo with wide eyes.

"Chief… say that again…"

The cape buffalo looked at Judy with confusion.

"I was just saying how we're having to do this all over again."

Without another word, she grabbed the key from Bogo's hoof and jumped up to place it in the lock. She then kicked the door open, causing the wind-blown rain to once again soak the floor of the front entrance. As the other three followed her inside, she spared no time to wait for them.

"Carrots, what are you doing," Nick called to her. She did not respond and vanished around the corner.

When they had finally made it back to the room, Judy had already opened numerous folders and sprawled them all over the table. Before anyone could ask about her intentions, she motioned at the projector hanging from the ceiling.

"I need someone to turn that on and pull up a map of Zootopia and its surrounding suburbs."

While Dr. Strode and Chief Bogo starred at the bunny in bewilderment, Nick hit two switches on the wall. One caused the projector bulb to ignite with life, and the other plunged the room into complete darkness. He jumped into a chair and quickly typed his login information into the system. In a matter of seconds, he had a map projecting on the wall.

"Chief Bogo, turn that so it's projecting onto the dry erase board."

He did as he was told, having learned with time to rarely question the intentions of his best officer. The projector pivoted on its mount. The beam of light swiveled from one side of the room to another.

"Officer Hopps, do you care to explain what's going on in that head of yours," Dr. Strode asked as he stepped closer to the table.

She ignored his question and instead handed him a marker.

"I need you to go through these folders and mark every place where one of Frost's original kidnappings took place. I also need them numbered in the order that they took place."

The racoon stood silent for a moment. When he turned to Bogo for questions, the Chief gave him a look that simply said, 'don't question, just do it.' Dr. Strode grabbed some folders and walked over to the board. As the projector light shone onto the board with a vibrant intensity, the room became dead quiet. The only sound came from Judy softly rustling through papers and the occasional squeak from Dr. Strode drawing an 'X' on the board. Nick continued to sit in his chair and watch as the map slowly became speckled with marks. Soon enough, there were twelve red X's littering the map. Judy grabbed a folder in her paw, along with a blue marker in the other.

 **Begin "Chariots of Pumpkins"**

"These are all the kidnappings that Samuel Frost committed before he was apprehended by the ZPD. Now if my theory holds true, we may just have the break we've been looking for."

She stepped in front of the board, causing her small frame to cast a shadow over the lower part of it.

"The first kidnapping in this case occurred in an apartment complex in Sahara Square. The first child that Frost kidnapped was also in Sahara Square, just two blocks from the apartment complex of the current case."

Judy made a blue circle around the red X.

"Our second kidnapping was in the Rainforest Distract on Raimi Avenue. Frost's second abduction was also in the Rainforest Distract and just one street over from Raimi."

As Judy went down the list, she continued to put more and more blue circles around the X's. Soon enough, there were only two on the board that had remained untouched. Nick did not say a word as he slowly slid down from his chair and walked in her direction. Soon enough, he was standing at her side with his mouth hanging slightly ajar. Chief Bogo had been left speechless by all this as he stood by the door with his arms crossed over his chest. Dr. Strode stared at the map and managed to hide the uneasy feeling he could feel brewing deep inside.

"That just leaves the kidnapping that occurred today in the Rainforest District…"

With a slightly trembling paw, Judy reached up and drew a blue circle around the X.

"Damn, Carrots, you really are quite impressive…"

Nick's eyes darted over the board as he looked at each marking. When he caught site of the restaurant in Downtown where Finnick had been kidnapped, he felt a lump form in his throat. He felt the desire to vomit begin to rise, but he quickly suppressed it. He stepped closer to the board, making sure to keep his composure perfectly natural. Just outside the line marking the Zootopia city limits remained one last X.

"Cravenfield? I've never even heard of this place," Judy said as she starred at the small town's perimeter on the map. It was about the same size of River North where Dr. Strode lived. She suspected that the entire population was no larger than that of one or two city blocks in Zootopia.

"That was where Frost made his first and final mistake," Dr. Strode spoke up from the background. "You see, he used to only commit his crimes in the early hours of the morning. Of course, now he sometimes strikes in broad daylight, but I think he's just trying to show off. Anyway, the problem with Cravenfield is that most of the people who live there are employed by the Packard Sawmill. Although it's still a half hour drive to the mill, the town is still the closest one. Since most of these workers would leave at around four in the morning, a few of them were able to give us the license plate for the van he was using."

The racoon moved from his current position and towards a folder on the table. He opened it up and shuffled through the small collection of photographs paperclipped to the inside. Setting a picture of the van and a one-story home down on the table, he stepped towards the map.

"The ZPD was able to trace the license plate back to his home in Tundra Town. From there, I'm pretty sure we all know the details, and there's no need to recount the horrid atrocities that were discovered inside."

Everyone nodded without saying a word or making a sound.

"So, we have a pretty solid guess of where he's going to strike next, but we still don't have any idea as to when," Nick interrupted. "It's not like we can just have the ZPD patrolling the town 24/7 until we see him. He'll know something's up."

He turned to Judy, who had clasped her paws together and was using them to prop her head up.

"Got anything, Carrots?"

There was moment of silence. The room was quiet, save for the rain pelting the window and a low rumble of thunder. Judy then turned towards Nick, her face emotionless, yet focused at the same time.

"What do you say we pay a visit to our old friend, Jack Savage?"

* * *

As he and Judy neared Jack's cell once more, Nick stole occasional side glances at the passing inmates. Just like the first time, he kept his eyes straight ahead and pretended to ignore their ramblings. Although their strange utterances disturbed him slightly less this time, it still sent a chill down his spine. As they drew nearer to Jack's cell, the muffled sound of music carried down the hallway. The lyrics became intermingled with the psychotic screams of a lion in a passing cell, but Nick could hear what he assumed to be an electric guitar.

When they finally stepped in front of his cell, they could see Jack lying down on his bed with one leg crossed over the other with his foot dancing in the air. A speaker sat on the floor. It ran off a rechargeable battery since the animals who ran the hospital refused to give him one with a cord for obvious reasons. The speaker came with a bluetooth phone that had every other feature except for the music disabled. It was the only way that Nick was able to meet Jack's request for music without jeopardizing the security of his cell. Out stretching his arm, Nick wrapped his knuckles against the thick window.

The rabbit lifted his head with confusion on his face, but this soon gave way to a slightly disturbing smile. He quickly jumped to attention and hopped on his feet. He strolled over in Nick and Judy's direction while pausing the music.

"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde, good to see the both of you again. Would either of you care for something to drink? The staff here sure knows how to serve a good apple juice from the bottle."

Judy waved off his odd statement before looking him dead in the eyes with an emotionless face.

"If you don't mind, Savage, I'd like to just skip the formalities and get right to business. What we need to discuss may be time-sensitive."

Jack raised an eyebrow before turning and retrieving a chair from the corner of his room. He had been given it a couple of days ago after the staff had completely torn it apart and put it back together to make sure there was nothing he could do to utilize it as a weapon.

"Before we begin, I wanted to thank you Officer Wild for getting that speaker to me. I appreciate all the trouble you went through. It really does help having music every now and then. Breaking that eerie silence helps keep me from going completely out of my mind."

"It really wasn't a problem. Just don't get the idea in your head that you can keep asking for favors every time we want to come talk to you. This is a one-time deal."

Jack nodded that he fully understood and turned in Judy's direction.

"Alright Officer Hopps, let's hear it. How did your meeting with Dr. Strode go?"

Judy removed the file from under her arm and opened it. She pulled out a picture of the map she and Nick had marked up the previous night. She slid it under the extremely thin gap of the door to Jack's cell. He picked it up and Judy proceeded to speak while Jack's eyes scanned over it.

"We started off by marking all of the places where Frost originally committed his crimes. We then went back and marked the ones for all the recent kidnappings. It turns out that they're all in the same place. The only one left is a small town called Cravenfield. Judging off that photo, we think it's safe to assume that his next one is going to occur in the only location he hasn't revisited."

Jack sat in silence for a moment before scoffing and sliding the piece of paper back under the door.

"I should have been able to tell from his file that Frost would be the kind of guy to take a trip down memory lane. My best guess is that he's trying to relive what he considers to be some of the best moments of his life when he was committing those crimes. He must get some sick, twisted satisfaction from revisiting those places. You should take that last statement very seriously. It takes some pretty dark stuff for me to consider it twisted given my viewpoint on life."

Nick stepped slightly closer to the glass. As he did so, the smell of chemicals used to clean the floor wafted through the air holes in the window. He could not fathom how any mammal could stand to be in a room with a smell like that, but soon remembered that Jack was far from normal.

"The problem we are having now is trying to figure out when he's going to strike. His abductions have been getting more and more frequent, and we're terrified that one may happen within just a couple of days. At this point, the ZPD is ready to act on basic assumptions and not solid evidence."

Jack flashed Nick a puzzled look. He stared at the badge pinned to the pocket of his uniform that was reflecting the harsh glow of the neon lights in the ceiling.

"Normally, I would get a good laugh at the thought of someone getting help from an arsonist and murderer. In this case however, I know that the two of you have no other place to turn. Besides, you two are genuinely nice and I have no problem giving you my assistance."

This time, Judy was the one that gave Jack a puzzled look.

"Are you being serious? How can you be so friendly with the two officers that put you in jail for the rest of your life?"

"Because," Jack said while turning towards Judy and giving her a non-creepy smile, "the two of you were just doing your jobs. Granted, I ended up in a losing scenario because of it, but that's hardly your fault. You were just following orders and I would do the same thing if I had been in your place."

Nick questioned the sudden morals that Jack magically seemed to have at this moment, but decided it was best to not press the rabbit for questions and let him talk.

"The first thing that comes to my mind is to cross the dates of his past crimes with the ones of the current kidnappings."

Before Jack could you elaborate further on the thought, Nick cut him short by shaking his head.

"We've already tried that. None of the dates match up, but we didn't think it would be that easy. We were lucky enough to find the relationships between the locations."

Jack stood silent for a moment before twirling around and sitting in his chair. He rested his jaw down in a paw and stared at the floor. An eerie silence surrounded Nick and Judy as the rabbit sat inside his transparent prison. The sounds of other inmates had faded into the background, leaving them with nothing but the sound of Jack occasionally tapping his foot on the cold tile floor.

"Halloween night…"

Judy snapped out her daze and looked up at the rabbit. Jack's grey eyes were starring directly at her from his perch in the cell.

"Halloween," Judy asked with a doubtful tone.

Nick thought for a moment before snapping his fingers, causing the sound to echo down the hallway.

"He's right, Carrots. It's the perfect night for Frost to strike. There's going to be kits, cubs, and all other kinds of animals wandering the streets."

"Not to mention a lot of them will be unattended," Jack said without breaking his stare at Judy.

"You don't think every adult is going to be watching their children relentlessly that night," Judy questioned.

She avoided eye contact with Jack and stared at Nick.

"I doubt it. Most of the ones who are worried live in the inner parts of Zootopia. As we saw when visiting Dr. Strode in River North, the outlying areas seem to hardly pay any mind to these kidnappings."

"That just gives all the more reason for Frost to strike on Halloween night," Jack let out.

Nick and Judy turned to find he had stood from his chair and silently appeared mere inches from the wall of his cell. Over the harshness of the cleaning chemicals he had noticed earlier, Nick could smell an expensive cologne seeping through the holes in the cell. Rather than question how the rabbit could have gotten ahold of such an item, he decided not to open that can of worms.

"If he strikes in Cravenfield like the two of you theorize, then it makes the perfect opportunity. He'll have an open field of easy targets that night."

"Unless we have ZPD officers patrolling that night," Judy said.

"I would avoid making your presence known. It would be best if only the two of you and perhaps a few of your closest colleagues are out that night. The less suspicion you draw, the better chance you'll have of catching Frost."

Nick crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Judy for her opinion. Much like him, she could not make up her mind one way or the other. The idea seemed reasonable, but they would still be acting on a hunch. It would be quite the challenge to persuade Chief Bogo to let them on another undercover operation. Considering this would be out of his jurisdiction, things were not going to be easy.

"I can already see that little bunny mind going through way too many thoughts at once, Carrots. I'll talk to Bogo in the morning. Don't worry yourself about it."

Nick patted her on the shoulder and turned in Jack's direction.

"Thanks for your help once again, Jack. We really do appreciate it."

"The pleasure is all mine, Officer Wilde. Please, feel free to stop by any time you need advice, whether it pertains to work or pleasure."

Nick nodded and quickly turned to follow Judy. She had left while Nick was saying his goodbyes to Jack.

"He still gives me the creeps," Judy said without turning back in his direction.

"Don't worry yourself about him too much, Carrots. All we have to do is catch Frost, and then we should never have to talk to Jack again."

Nick glanced back as he heard the music start up again from Jack's cell.

" _Cause babe I'll rabbit fight all over you…"_

"It's a shame because the guy really has good taste in music."

As the two officers walked down the hallway towards the exit, Jack lay down on his bed and starred at the ceiling. Just like he had done almost every waking hour during the past few days, he crossed one leg over the other and let his foot dangle in the air. He swung it in time to the music while his cold, grey eyes remained unmoving and intensely focused on the air vent above his bed.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	19. Luminol

This chapter uses the song "The Shape Burns" by John Carpenter.

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Luminol**

As the glow of an overhead streetlight shone down through the windshield, Nick twiddled a pen between his fingers and starred out his window. To his side, Judy unwrapped a piece of candy and threw it in her mouth. The ZPD always held a large trick-or-treating event every year, and Judy had bought a large bag in anticipation for it. However, she decided to just bring it with them in the car to snack on since they were going to be spending Halloween night in an unmarked surveillance vehicle. As she chewed the overly sweet piece of artificially flavored taffy, she looked up and down the street at all the different kids in their costumes.

It brought back memories of growing up in Bunny Burrow. Every year, her mother would go to a craft store and buy a large supply of fabric and other accessories for Judy and her siblings to make costumes. Considering how many of them lived in the household, it was impossible for Bonnie to make all of them herself. Over the years, Judy had become the envy of her siblings by always creating what they considered to be the best out of them all.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it Nick?"

The fox continued to twirl the pen in his fingers as he glanced over at his partner.

"You're talking about all the costumes?"

"Well yeah. Didn't you ever go out trick-or-treating when you were younger?"

Nick let out a light laugh before turning in Judy's direction and pulling a piece of candy from the bag between their seats. As he unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, he looked out the windshield at a group of kids coming their way down the sidewalk.

"Of course I did. Finnick and I always went out every year. Granted, money wasn't always available for really good costumes. There was one year when we went down to the thrift store and just bought some old suits. When we got home, we tore them up and slathered on some gray, black and white paint to make ourselves look like zombies from Night of the Living Dead. Looking back on that, I'm not sure if that paint was actually meant to be applied on fur and skin. We didn't get sick, so I'm going to assume it wasn't toxic."

Judy chuckled to herself as she imagined Nick painting himself in his living room.

"I can only imagine just how messy that must've been."

"You'd be correct in that assumption," Nick said while smacking on the overly hard piece of candy. "We took turns holding a hair dryer to one another to make the paint dry quickly. We thought our system was foolproof until we noticed splotches all over the living room floor."

Judy let out a gasp and covered her mouth to over-exaggerate the point.

"Up until that point, I never knew what true suffering was until I had to clean dried paint out of carpet. My mom still has that same flooring in the living room and there are some spots that she's tried to cover with pieces of furniture."

"Then I guess next time we go over there, I'll have to ask your mom to show them to me."

"Please don't. She honestly may have forgotten about them by now and I don't want her to be reminded."

There was a sudden shriek from outside the car that caused both of them to turn and look. The group of kids that had been walking down the sidewalk had gone to a house where the resident greeted them with a hockey mask and plastic machete covered in fake blood. The kids sprinted down the cobblestone path from the front door and turned sharply onto the sidewalk. As they passed Nick and Judy's car at supersonic speed, Nick noticed a few pieces of candy flying from their buckets.

"Now that's what I _really_ miss. There was nothing more exciting than getting a good scare on this night."

Judy snickered while turning in Nick's direction and throwing an empty wrapper at him"

"Just last week I startled you by opening the bathroom door while you were drying your fur."

"Hey, you and I both know that the bathroom is off-limits when either of us is in there."

Just as Judy was about to deliver a sarcastic reply, the radio mounted on their dashboard crackled to life in a burst of static. Nick immediately grabbed the receiver while turning up the volume with his other paw.

"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde, we have a report of a suspicious individual making his way North two streets over on Carpenter Avenue. He's apparently been looking people's windows and wandering too close to their property."

"We'll be there shortly," Nick said before hooking the microphone back onto its clip and starting up the car.

He slowly brought the vehicle out onto the street and made sure to keep the lights off. If this report just so happened to be Frost, Nick wanted to make sure that he would not see them coming. As they made their way down the street and approached an intersection, Judy made sure that her firearm was ready should the situation escalate to the use of aggressive force. As they turned onto the street, Nick looked on the left side while Judy looked on the right. It was not until they were a few houses down that someone matching the description appeared in their view.

Nick felt his pulse began to quicken as he unknowingly gripped the steering wheel tighter. He pulled the vehicle off to the side and stopped it against the curb. As he killed the engine and made sure his weapon was still clipped to his side, the individual continued to slowly walk away from them. Although he was completely cloaked in black, they could easily see that his height matched that of Frost. Nick and Judy exited the vehicle and quietly shut their doors to keep any noise to a minimum. They stepped over the curb and onto the sidewalk. As they walked behind their suspect and slowly began to close the gap, a chilly wind blew through the air that caused any leaves on the ground to swirl about. Nick pulled his flannel shirt tighter around his torso.

They were soon within a stone's throw of the individual. Just as Nick was about to call out to him to turn around, the figure walked down a pathway and approached the front door of a house. Nick motioned for Judy to join him behind a large tree. She did so and they both glanced around its trunk and watched the large animal approach the front door. He held out a large paw and pressed the doorbell. Nick had one paw lightly caressing the handle of his weapon should he need to pull it out if a violent situation occurred. When the door opened, cheers of small children echoed out into the night.

"Uncle Kevin," they screamed in unison while a bunch of cubs burst through the doorway and swarmed the now identified Uncle Kevin.

"Sorry about the long wait kids. It took me forever to find this place."

He bent down to hug them before taking the group back inside and closing the door. Nick removed his paw from the holster and instead grabbed the radio tucked in the waistband of his jeans.

"It was nothing but a false alarm, Clawhauser. Officer Hopps and I are going to walk up and down the street, so don't call the car radio if you need us."

Nick walked out from behind the tree and onto the sidewalk. The cool cement felt good on the pads of his feet, and he began to wish they had been walking the entire time. Judy joined him at his side. As they continued down the sidewalk, she glanced behind them out of suspicion that someone could be lurking close behind.

"You know, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to retire out here. I'm starting to grow more and more fond of life in a suburb. It's not large like a city, but not exactly spread really thin like Bunny Burrow."

Judy gave him a questioning look.

"Well, you know I'm right. If I remember correctly, the closest neighbor your parents have is nearly a mile down the road. That doesn't seem too safe should an accident occur and they need someone for help."

Judy realized she would be fighting a losing battle and simply brushed off the remark and attempted to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Remind me again why Bogo only allowed ZPD officers out on patrol tonight. Don't you think it would have been more effective to include some of the local officers with us?"

"I had asked the same question at first, but Bogo made me realize something. If we were to include the local police department tonight, it may not really play out as well as we hope. The chief worried that in such a small town like this where they're not used to such threats, they may be a little fearful about it. He said how they would start seeing Frost on every corner."

"What is that supposed to mean," Judy asked.

"It means that their nerves may get the better of them. It could cause them to see things as dangerous when they really aren't. For a small-town officer who may not be used to large, burly criminals kidnapping children, anyone who vaguely matches that description could be a suspect."

Nick stopped in his tracks and bent down to pick up some candy wrappers that littered the sidewalk. He stuffed them in his pocket before continuing his stride.

"You see carrots, even little pieces of litter like that seem so out of place in a cookie cutter neighborhood of perfection like this. We have an educated guess as to what to look for. The officers in this town would simply be looking for whatever horrific monstrosity their mind conjures up."

Another gust of wind blew through the air, causing Judy to pull her jacket tightly around her body.

"I have to say, the most surprising part of that statement to me is that you agreed with the Chief for once in your life."

As Nick opened his mouth to reply, he was cut short buy a scream that echoed down the street. They both stopped in their tracks and stared in the direction that it had come from. Judy's hears now stood straight up and one of Nick's swiveled in the direction of the noise. After a moment of silence, they heard it again. This time, however, it was cut short and muffled.

"It sounded like it came from the other side of the street," Judy said with a hushed tone.

Nick stood in front of her for protection and pulled the radio back from his waistband.

"Clawhauser, we have another suspicious occurrence on the same street. We're going to go check it out."

As the channel clipped out in a short snippet of static, Nick looked both ways before stepping down from the curb and into the street. Judy followed close behind as a two of them crossed to the other side and began walking towards the source of the screams. A group of kids ran past them, causing a motion light to turn on from a nearby porch. After a few moments, it turned off and left the yard illuminated only by the soft orange glow of a candle in a Jack-o-Lantern.

They continued further down the street and Judy kept her ears perked high and listening for any other noises. Just as they passed a house bathed in the orange and purple glow of spotlights, a metallic clang could be heard from the back side. They both froze and turned to look down the driveway. The entire area side of the house was shrouded in darkness. Nick motioned for Judy to follow close behind him as he pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. As they walked further down the driveway, something began to reflect the light back at them.

"It's just a trash can," Nick said with defeat while turning off the flashlight and putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Help me!"

The end of the sentence was cut off by what Nick and Judy presumed to be someone placing a paw over the mouth of the victim. Nick felt a chill run down his spine has his hand immediately grabbed the weapon clipped to his belt. He made sure it was loaded before forming a defensive stance. He remained silent and motioned for Judy to follow him around the side of the house. Nick peeked around the corner into a dark backyard. In the extremely faint glow of the home, he could see the faint outline of a playground and swing set structure.

"This is the ZPD. If there's someone out here, make your presence known."

There was no response. The only thing Nick's sensitive ears could hear was the sound of a movie playing from a house next door. As his eyes adjusted more to the darkness, Nick thought he could see a dark shape standing at the very edge of the property. He turned and motioned to Judy, whose eyes widened slightly as she noticed the figure too. With their weapons at the ready, they slowly walked towards the edge of the yard. They soon stood within a few feet of the figure, and Nick raised his weapon and pointed it at the shoulder of the individual. If he needed to fire off a shot, he wanted to make sure that he didn't kill the suspect.

"This is the ZPD. I want you to slowly come forward with your hands where I can see them."

Before Nick could finish the sentence, a tall and slender figure tilted forward. The concrete statue came crashing down as Nick scrambled backwards to avoid getting hit. He landed with his back on the ground and the concrete monstrosity crumbling into large chunks just mere inches in front of him. As he struggled to regain his bearings, Judy saw something standing that had been standing behind the statue take off around the perimeter of the yard and make a break for the side of the house.

"Nick, he's heading back towards the street," Judy screamed while sprinting into action.

Nick frantically stood up and followed her, his paws slipping in the wet grass for his first few steps. Has he and Judy sprinted around the other side of the house, the large figure became illuminated under a motion light that triggered near a side door. Whoever it was, the body was shrouded in a large bulky trench coat. The side door opened, and a deer peered her head around the corner. As they ran past her, Nick screamed for her to stay inside. The doe did as she was told and immediately slammed the door and locked it with a loud clunk.

"Clawhauser, I need you to send back up our way."

Before the Cheetah had a chance to respond, Nick stuffed the radio into his pocket and focused on the shape that was lumbering down the sidewalk. As he approached a group of kids, Judy screamed for them to get out the way. The group children did as they were told and darted to the side onto someone's lawn. The owner of the house opened the door and looked outside. Judy ordered him to take the kids inside. He dared not argue with her and let them in before locking the door.

Turning to look at them, Nick caught a glance of the face that had been tucked away behind the collar of the trench coat. The dirty white fur on the snow leopard's face looked matted and wet. A long, dark scar traced its way along his cheek and up over the right eye. As Nick locked eyes with him, he could see an almost unnatural hatred and evil burning behind the murky, brown color of his eyes.

"It's him…" Nick said after recognizing the demonic glare from photos in Frost's case files.

The snow leopard turned his head back around and continued his lumbering steps down the sidewalk. Nick and Judy were almost within reach of him when Frost darted to one side and vanished behind a hedge. Judy took the turn sharply while Nick felt his feet slide out from under him. His weapon slid over the concrete and vanished over the edge of the curb. As he frantically searched for it amongst the dead leaves that had gathered on the edge of the street, Judy continued her pursuit.

"Stop, or I will shoot!"

Frost ignored her warning and vanished behind a line of parked cars. As Judy bounded out into this new street, she glanced from side to side in attempt to locate Frost. All she could find was emptiness illuminated by the sickly yellow glow of the streetlights. Suddenly, she heard frantic running from her side as Nick darted out from the side of a house. She could tell he was out of breath and a nervous wreck at this point.

"Where'd he go," Nick asked while coming to a stop in the middle of the street with Judy.

"I have no idea. He vanished behind these parked cars and I lost sight of him."

Nick took a moment to catch his breath. The entire time, he kept his finger hovering over the trigger of his weapon.

"It was definitely him…"

"What?"

"It was Frost," Nick let out between pants. "I could tell because of that evil glare in all his photos."

Before Judy could respond, a vehicle roared to life a short distance down the street. With this also came the sound of screams that were only partially muffled. Nick darted in the direction of the noise. Judy followed close behind. A few streets over, she could make out the red and blue pulsating lights of a ZPD police car drawing nearer.

"ZPD! Step away from the vehicle!"

Without any response, Nick fired a shot into the side of the van. A mighty roar echoed into the night as the projectile penetrated the metal siding and into Frost. Before Nick could get another one off, the van's tires peeled out on the asphalt and the air filled with the stench of burned rubber. He hurled himself backwards as the van came roaring out into the street.

 **Begin "The Shape Burns"**

Judy watched as a nearby streetlight reflected off the bumper of the van as it barreled towards Nick. In a split second, time slowed down around her as the corner of the bumper made contact with Nick's midsection and sent him sailing through the air. All sounds around her suddenly faded into a droning hum that filled her ears like cotton. She watched as Nick's body sailed through the air. His eyes were wide with surprise as his now limp form inched closer to the ground. Before he was able to stick his arms out to break the fall, Nick came crashing onto the asphalt with his right side sliding over its surface. Judy watched completely mortified as the most important animal in her life skidded over the street until the side of his head contacted the curb.

Judy stood mortified until the harsh glow of headlights panned over her. She quickly jumped to one side as Frost's van barreled past her at a dangerous speed. As it rocketed away from them, Judy could smell the harsh exhaust that fumed from its tailpipe.

"Nick!"

She scrambled to her feet and ran in his direction. He lay crumpled against the curb with his shirt torn open and blood seeping into the fabric and his fur. Judy's vision became blurry as hot tears poured down her cheeks.

"No… no, no, no!"

Nick's eyes fluttered for a moment before slowly closing. Judy swore she could see his mouth attempt to move.

"Nick, stay with me!"

Any movement ceased as she felt the muscles in his arm relax. Judy's lower lip trembled and she could now feel her whole body shaking.

"H-... h-help… HELP!"

Her screams echoed up and down the street as a ZPD car came to a screeching halt behind her. As Delgato stepped out from the vehicle, Judy clutched Nick tightly to her chest. She brushed his ears back with a trembling paw. He was still breathing, but they were shallow and far between.

"Oh God," Delgato let out as he approached the scene.

He scrambled for the radio on his belt and frantically pressed the call button.

"Clawhauser, I need emergency services here immediately. Officer Wilde is down…"

The lion approached Judy and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Help is on the way Judy. Until the paramedics get here, I need you to let him go. Set his head down slowly and stop moving him."

Judy hesitated at first but realized there was no other choice. She rested Nick's head down on her folded-up jacket and waited for the ambulance. The entire time, she gripped his paw tightly in hers. The blood from his wounds stained her fur in various spots, but it was the least of her concerns. As more red and blue lights illuminated the surrounding area, she could see Nick's breathing slow with each effort he made.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	20. In Absentia

Play "Collapse the Light into Earth" by Porcupine Tree while reading the whole chapter

* * *

 **Chapter 20: In Absentia**

Nick opened his eyes and immediately pressed a paw to his stomach. Although he expected excruciating pain, he was surprisingly met with nothing more than a dull ache. Pulling his paw away, he saw his fur matted and dark with a stain of blood. In a panic, he tore open his flannel shirt, causing buttons to go flying around him. Staring down at his stomach, he was met with the site of no gash or wound on his body.

"What the hell," he muttered to himself while lifting his head.

It was not until this point that Nick realized where he was. Expecting to find the cold, sterile environment of the ZPD medical sector, he was instead met with the site of a lush field under a clear, blue sky. He was lying amongst bushels of barley that would be about waist-height had he been standing up. The thin and brittle stalks smashed down under his body where he sat. As he pivoted his head, Nick could only see a flat plane of these crops that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Nick attempted to stand up, and he could feel his knees trembling all the while. As he put his paws on his knees to stabilize himself, a breeze began to blow. The cool rush of air brought with it the smell of the bountiful crops. Nick had been on the Hopp's farm many times by this time in his life, but he had never been able to smell their crops untainted by the scent of fertilizer and other treatment products. His nostrils inhaled deeply as he was lost in the purity of nature. The breeze picked up slightly, causing the fox to relish in the soothing feeling. He took a step forward and began to make his way towards the sun that loomed in the afternoon sky.

With each step, he smashed more barley stalks flat under the pads of his feet. Another breeze arrived, causing his shirt to blow open and allow the wind to wrap itself around his torso. The cool air seemed to alleviate the ache in his midsection. Nick let out a sigh of relief that the irritation was starting to diminish. On the horizon, he finally saw an abnormality in the perfection of the landscape. Although it appeared as nothing more than a speck at first, Nick drew closer and began to realize it was the barrier of taller crops. When he arrived at the rows of corn, he stood still and gazed up at the looming plants. The sun had sunk a little lower in the sky, causing its rays to cast broken shadows on the ground.

"Nicholas P. Wilde, where the hell are you?"

With a newfound since of determination, he pushed the stalks aside with his forearms and made his way through.

These crops gave off a different smell than the barley, but he still enjoyed it. Just like before, the air smelled only of the crops. As he pushed his way through deeper into the rows, Nick swore he could hear a voice off in the distance. He stopped moving for a moment to silence the sound of him stepping on dried corn husks. At first, all he could hear was the wind beginning to pick up once more. After a while, however, the voice lightly echoed back in his direction. Unlike the first time, Nick was able to clear make out the voice. Just like he heard every morning he woke up and looked into his bunny's eyes, Judy's voice came drifting on the breeze.

"Judy..." he whispered under his breath.

Nick began to sprint through the stalks in the direction of her voice. He ignored the low-hanging ears of corn and other organic debris that smacked at his body as he barreled through the rows of crops. With each barefooted step that came crashing down on the soft Earth, Nick could hear her voice getting closer. Suddenly, he burst through the final row of corn and into a small opening in the seemingly endless array. Sitting in the middle of the area with her back turned to him, Nick could see Judy staring up at the sky.

"Carrots?"

Judy did not utter a word. She continued to sit completely motionless and stare straight up. Not knowing what else to do, Nick hesitantly took one step forward and then another. As he drew closer to Judy, the sound of the wind cascading through the stalks diminished. All he could hear now was his feet making light crunching noises on the dry vegetation and his heartbeat thudding in his ears. He now stood directly behind her. With slight hesitation, he slowly reached out and placed a paw on her shoulder. At first, she did not respond to his touch. After a few seconds, however, she slowly lifted her paw and placed it over his.

"You're cold…"

Nick gave her a look of confusion.

"What did you say?"

"You're cold," Judy slowly repeated while standing to her feet.

Nick suddenly felt his paws begin to tremble. Judy continued to hold onto him as a feeling of nervousness began to grow in his stomach. Nick felt his knees grow weak as his vision began to blur around the edges. The violet glow of Judy's eyes began to grow in intensity as Nick heard a humming building in his ears. He went crashing to the ground and caused a small plume of dust to kick up around him. As his vision went to black, the last thing he saw was Judy's eyes staring back at him.

Nick's eyes shot open as he bolted upright in bed. The lights in the room were turned down low, leaving the corners filled with darkness. His vision remained blurred around the edges, but he was still able to make out a shape next to his bed. Curled up in a ball on an adjacent couch, Judy was fast asleep. Judging by the colors, Nick thought he could see the fox doll she had dressed up in clothing similar to his khaki pants and green shirt.

As he looked at the other side of the room, he noticed something out the window. There were more windows across what he assumed to be a courtyard. Raindrops speckled the glass, causing any outside light to be blurred in the moisture droplets. The top of a tree was barely visible in the glow of the building's exterior lighting. It was at this moment that realization hit him.

He was in a hospital.

Nick's vision had now almost fully returned to normal, allowing him to see the assortment of tubes and wires connected to multiple points on his body. Between his bed and Judy's sleeping form, a beeping he had not noticed earlier began to grow more rapid. This caused Judy to stir from her sleep and rub her eyes with balled fists. As she sat up and looked in Nick's direction, she froze, and her eyes went wide. For a moment, they locked eyes. Neither of them knew what to do until Judy's lip suddenly began to quiver.

"Nick," she screamed while scrambling to her feet and jumping up onto the bed next to him.

Nick soon found himself wrapped tightly in her grasp. She buried her head in the crook of his neck. Hot tears welled from her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

"I feared you wouldn't wake up…"

Judy's voice cracked as she struggled to talk through choking sobs. She lifted her head and pressed her lips against Nick's. The heart rate monitor continued to escalate its beeping as the two mammals lost themselves in the moment. When their brace was broken, Judy nuzzled her fox closer as more tears streamed from her eyes. Although her sobs had greatly reduced, Nick could still feel her body jolting as she struggled to cry and breath at the same time. Nick slowly lifted a paw and rubbed her back.

"You were gone for nearly two weeks… I was beginning to worry so much…"

Nick felt his eyes begin to water. He pulled Judy closer to his chest and placed the bottom of his jaw on top of her head. As she continued to cry and grab at the fur of his chest, Nick stared straight ahead. He could not remember what had put him in this situation. The last memory that came to his mind was chasing after Frost down a street. As Nick heard footsteps approaching his room, he simply sat and rubbed his paw up and down Judy's back. Her broken cries still echoed in his hears and stung at his heart with each pain-stricken sob.

* * *

Judy looked up from her spot on the couch next to Nick's bed as the doctor came through the doorway. As he closed it softly, he glanced over at the fox who was happily stuffing down a bowl of cereal while watching a movie on his laptop.

"Good morning Mr. Wilde. I understood from one of the nurses that you managed to go back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night," the leopard asked while staring at him

He intentionally left out the information about the nurse finding Judy cuddled up by Nick's side when she had come in earlier. Although she had found the site touching, she gently lifted Judy and placed her back on the couch in fear of her getting tangled and some of Nick's IV tubes and other cables.

"Oh yeah, doc. I tell you, I haven't gotten to sleep that well in months."

The leopard raised an eyebrow as Nick went back to his cereal bowl. As the doctor turned in Judy's Direction, he gave her a look that bluntly asked,

 _Does he know?_

Judy glanced at her fox and then back at the doctor before lightly nodding.

"Mr. Wilde…"

Nick looked up from his bowl once more with stuffed cheeks.

"Do you not have any sort of concern that you've been in a coma for nearly two weeks?"

Nick swallowed the cereal in his mouth before lifting the bowl to his lips and drinking down the remainder. Ignoring the napkin on the tray, he wiped his mouth with the back of his paw before turning to the doctor with a smile.

"I'm not going to lie that it was a little surprising finding out I've been out for that long, but I'm not completely thrown off by it."

The doctor glanced at Judy again. She simply shrugged her shoulders and motioned for him to keep asking Nick questions.

"Would you mind if I pressed you further to ask why? It's just that most patients are typically altered in some way when they learn that they've been in a coma. You seem to be handling it better than I've ever seen anyone do it."

"There were quite a few times when I was growing up that I did some really stupid things. On one of those occasions, my friend, Finnick, and I were screwing around in a construction site. One thing led to another and I somehow ended up falling twelve feet into a pit and hitting my head. I woke up 3 days later in my bed."

Judy could see a look of fear and confusion on the doctor's face.

"Your friend didn't bring you to a hospital," he asked with obvious concern in his tone

"My mother always said that if I called her from the hospital, I would end up leaving with more injuries than I went in with. Of course, it was just to make a point to not do anything stupid. We barely had enough money coming in to cover basic necessities and the bills. My mom having to pay a hospital bill with the cheap insurance we were barely able to afford was out of the question. So, Finnick took me home and put me in bed. Luckily, my mom had to go out of town for a couple of days on a business trip. There was no need to worry about her coming into my room and finding me passed out in my bed looking like a burn victim in all those bandages."

The leopard's jaw now hung slightly open in bewilderment at the tale that Nick had just woven. He turned to Judy in hopes that she would say the whole thing was just an exaggeration, but she nodded with a serious look on her face.

"Well then... Have you experienced any sort of symptoms such as loss of vision, ringing in the ears, headaches, or anything of the like?"

Nick shook his head from side to side and picked up the banana from his tray. The doctor took note of this by scribbling down on his notepad before looking back at his patient.

"It seems that your concussion has fully diminished, but we'll still be keeping a close eye on you just in case. Now, that leaves us with your other injuries."

Nick took a bite of the banana, causing half of it to disappear. Having been supplemented with liquid nutrition over the past few days had left his stomach like a deep pit that could not be filled.

"Other injuries," Nick asked as if he were to oblivious of the night that had put him in the hospital in the first place.

"Yes, Mr. Wilde. You were hit by a van. You should consider yourself lucky that you weren't absolutely crushed by this individual when he was fleeing. You ended up cracking four ribs."

"It sure doesn't feel like I did."

"That's because we have you on some extremely strong painkillers. They're only good for stopping the aching. If you're still doubtful, please feel free to try and bend forward to touch your toes. I must urge you to take it slowly, however."

With a smug look on his face, Nick put his food tray and laptop off to the side and stretched his legs out straight in front of him. He then extended his arms and cracked his knuckles before slowly bending over to touch the tips of his feet. Judy watched not in a sense of panic, but in a sense of bewilderment at what she inevitably knew was about to happen. Nick's eyes went wide as a pain shot from his midsection and all throughout his body. He immediately retracted his arms and clasped them around his midsection.

"Son of a _bitch_ ," he exclaimed at the top of his lungs while falling back into his pillow.

Judy rolled her eyes and did her best to not break out in laughter. She felt great sympathy for Nick, even during occasions where he put himself in pain under his own free will. Although she was able to stop the laughter from bellowing out, she was unable to keep the smile from forming on her lips. Nick let out a deep breath before turning his eyes back in the doctor's direction.

"I'm sorry… I'll listen now," he let out with defeat.

The doctor shook his head from side to side with a smile while reaching into his folder and sorting through some documents. He pulled out a black cellophane sheet and held it above Nick so the light fixture was behind it.

"As you can see from your x-rays, they are all cracks and not clean breaks. With the amount of force that van must have hit you with, you're extremely lucky that you didn't rupture any organs and have internal bleeding."

Judy had moved from her seat on the couch and was standing next to Nick's bed. She had reached over and taken his paw in hers as they both stared up at the illuminated sheet.

"Besides that, your midsection only had a cut. Luckily, it didn't require stitches and should heal properly in a week or two."

"Tis but a flesh wound," Nick whispered to Judy in a corny British accent.

This caused her to choke on her laughter as she tried not to embarrass herself in front of the doctor. The leopard had not taken notice and looked through his folder once more. He held another x-ray sheet up to the light for them to see. This time, the bones of Nick's leg and foot could be seen in the middle of the gray mass representing his flesh.

"Although this has nothing to do with the incident you were involved in, I did notice some shin splints on both of your legs."

Judy raised her hand like a child in a classroom waiting to be called on to ask a question.

"What exactly are those?"

The doctor retrieved a pen from his breast pocket and used it to point at the edge of one of Nick's fibula bones.

"It's when the bone starts to splinter. It's basically like a piece of wood. It's nothing to really be extremely concerned about, but it can be extremely painful if it progresses any further. It's actually quite common in animals that were used to running at high speeds, especially predators. My little brother used to get those for running cross-country in high school. I'll recommend some orthotics and other methods to help reduce them."

The doctor then returned the pen to its rightful place and shuffled all the documents back neatly into his folder.

"I've been informed by your superior of the situation you're in regarding the kidnapping case. I know it's not what you had wanted to hear, but Officer Wilde is going to need some intense rest for a month or two. You can go back to doing desk work in a week or two, but I don't want him going back out into the field without my approval. Just because you may feel that your injuries have healed, you can easily cause them to come back even worse than before if they're not given enough time to mend properly."

"How long is Nick going to be in the hospital for," Judy asked while nervously stroking the fur along his arm.

"He'll definitely have to stay here at least another five days. I'll release him when I feel he is able to be taken care of by someone other than one of our nurses. If you or a family member would be interested in helping him during the day while you're at work, I would try and make arrangements now."

Judy put a paw up to her head while letting go of Nick's arm with the other and grabbing onto the railing of his bed. The thought of Nick being somewhat incapacitated had crossed her mind while he had been in the coma, but the reality of it all had now come crashing down on her. She fumbled to find her next words and only let out a jumbled mess under her breath.

"Thank you, doctor. If we have any more questions, we'll give you a call," Nick said with a smile while turning to Judy.

"Of course, Mr. Wilde. And please, don't hesitate if you have any questions or concerns. It's better to be unsure and ask than to assume."

With that, the leopard turned and headed towards the door. As he turned the knob, he stopped and turned back in their direction.

"I almost forgot to mention. Chief Bogo went ahead and gave me the ZPD bank account to charge the room and any other fees on. He insisted upon this and made it clear over the phone that he would not listen to any fight the two of you put up. From the way he said that, I've gathered that you to do more than required, and it was the least he could do."

With that, the leopard left the room and softly closed the door behind him. Judy couldn't figure out the words to say and looked at Nick for his reaction. Much to her surprise, Nick had gone right back to his laptop. Judy shook away the surprised reaction on her face and walked over to jump up on the bed. As she sat next to her fox, Nick wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She could see him slightly wince in pain as her arm brushed near one of his ribs, but this soon went away.

"Nick?"

He tapped the spacebar and paused the movie before looking down at her.

"What is it my darling," he asked with an unexpected hint of delight in his tone.

This caused Judy to fumble over her words for a moment before she was able to spill them out.

"Are you sure that you're feeling... alright?"

"Well, I'm certainly not in the peak condition that you're used to if that's what you mean."

He said this with a light-hearted chuckle. When Judy failed to change the worried look on her face, Nick's smile quickly disappeared. He pulled her closer and she nestled her head in the crook of his elbow.

"To answer your question with full seriousness this time, I'm doing alright. I know your little bunny brain is probably cycling through all these thoughts about sending me to a psychiatrist or something because of what happened Halloween night, but I can assure you that I'm fine."

Judy could feel her tense muscles relax a little, but she still had a slightly sick feeling in the pit of her stomach which sat there like a rock.

"I just don't understand how you can be sitting here with such a... happy demeanor after you were nearly killed."

"I've been used to the thought for years."

" _Years_? How on Earth have-"

Nick pressed a finger up to her lips and silenced her.

"You know the kind of life I used to lead. Granted, you don't know the exact things I did, and I intend to keep it that way. Let's just say that Finnick and I used to do things that were dangerous enough where we had to come to terms with the fact that one of us, in worst-case, both of us, wouldn't make it home after a job."

Judy took a moment to process this. Although she had not realized it, Nick could feel her slowly increasing the strength of her grip on his paw. They sat in silence for a few moments as Judy processed your thoughts. Nick stared at her while brushing his paw over her ears that were lying flat against the back of her head. Still hooked up via a clamp on one of his fingers, Nick could hear the faint beeping of the heart monitor in the background.

"Things aren't the same as they used to be."

Nick looked down to find Judy staring out the nearby window as she began to speak.

"I know that's the mindset you were comfortable having, but things have changed. You're no longer a criminal who scams people out of a buck to make it from one meal to another. I know that as police officers, you and I both need to be understanding of the fact that we may not make it back after a shift. I'm not saying to keep that possibility completely out of your mind, but I personally don't understand how you can say such a thing and not have any sort of emotion attached to it."

Nick let out a deep breath and continued to stroke her ears. Her grip on his paw had lessened but was still tight.

"Just because I don't say that in a grand, theatrical sort of way doesn't mean I'm not emotional about it. I still remember the night Finnick and I came back from a job that had gone wrong in the Rainforest District. We remained quiet when we entered my house, but my mother was waiting for us in the living room. She had gone upstairs to check on me before she went to bed. She had been waiting downstairs to give me an earful when I got home, but that motive immediately went away when she saw the state both of us were in. Finnick had made it out lucky and was only bruised with a bleeding scratch on his cheek. I, on the other hand, had broken my arm and taken a pretty nasty cut across my chest."

Nick heard Judy sniffle at the thought of her fox being in such bad shape.

"There was a brief moment where she locked eyes with me and I was expecting her face to twist in a look of disappointment. I was proven wrong when she started sobbing and choking on her words while she wrapped her arms around me. We stood in my living room for a good five minutes and simply held onto each other. It was in this moment that I realized I needed to stop with all of the scams and other jobs that put me at such great risk."

"You don't consider being a police officer an equally dangerous, if not more dangerous, job," Judy asked as she casually attempted to wipe a tear away from her face without Nick noticing.

"That same thought came to my mind when I signed the application you gave me. It still took a while to weigh the choices I had but came down to one conclusion. With my old jobs, I would be putting myself at risk only for my own benefit. At least now, any risk I take is for the betterment of this society. My mother wasn't the happiest mammal in the world when I told her I had signed up for the ZPD, but she's come to accept it."

Nick placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to meet his gaze.

"You know, she has the photo of you and I at my graduation ceremony framed in the living room. I'm not sure if you noticed it, but it's right next to the one of her and my father on their wedding day. She told me that the first time she met you that day, she knew there was something between us, even though she didn't want to tell you. In fact, she probably doesn't appreciate it that I'm telling you now."

This caused Judy to let out a laugh as she wiped more tears from her eyes. She then went to playing with the fur on the end of Nick's tail. Every other time she had done this in the past, it was out of nervousness. As she twiddled his fur between her fingers, she avoided eye contact with him.

"Judy?"

The use of her real name caused the bunny to look up with full attention.

"Something's bothering you; I can tell."

Judy let out a light sigh of defeat. As she nuzzled closer to Nick, she made sure not to come in contact with any of his injuries.

"Talking about your mother really got me thinking."

Nick stroked the fur on top of Judy's head as a small smile came across his lips.

"Don't worry, Carrots. She and I have patched things up since that night."

"It's not that," Judy said.

Nick's smile dissipated and gave way to a look of confusion. He sat silently while waiting for Judy to continue. When she finally did, she started the sentence off with a heavy breath.

"Your mother and Finnick aren't the only ones in your life who want to make sure you come home…"

Judy began to sniffle again. This caused her to wipe more tears from her cheeks. She took in a deep breath and let it out calmly.

"The thought had crossed my mind a few times in the past, but it wasn't until Halloween night that I really felt that weight on my shoulders. I thought you were going to die, Nick…"

An eerie and unsettling silence hung in the room. Judy took a moment to compose herself once more before continuing.

"That night seems like something straight out of a nightmare. You'd think that the trauma and emotions flowing through my head in that moment would've clouded my memory, but I can recall all of it. Every last detail is etched permanently in my mind. I can still see you lying there in the street. The smell of blood and car exhaust always comes back every time I picture that night."

Judy finally broke down and began to cry uncontrollably. She threw her head down into Nick's lap to muffle her sobs from anyone else in the hospital. Nick stroked her back and felt her body jolt each time she took in a breath.

"It's alright, Carrots. Just let it all out…"

Judy continued to scream into Nick's lap. As he attempted to sooth her, he looked to the end table next to his bed. Sitting next to the small fox doll dressed like him was a piece of paper. Nick recognized it as a song he had written for her birthday. Ever since that night, he had left the piece of paper on his keyboard. It was obvious to him now that Judy had been reading over it while he was in the coma. The lyrics he had scratched out and rewritten in numerous places with a blue pen were streaked in some areas. Judy's tears had made the ink run, causing blue splotches to dot the page. As she continued to cry, Nick could feel tears begin to well in the corners of his eyes. Small drops of rain started to patter against the window. As the storm grew in intensity, Nick sat in bed and consoled his bunny while thunder rumbled outside and lightning illuminated the room.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	21. Coming Back to Life

This chapter uses the song "Home At Last" by Steely Dan.

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Coming Back to Life**

"Are you sure there's nothing around the office I can do," Nick asked with a hint of hope he was unable to keep out of his tone.

Judy flashed him a big smile before throwing a bag of binders and assorted papers over her shoulder. She also grabbed the mug of coffee sitting on the kitchen counter and finished off what was left.

"The doctor said he doesn't want you working again until tomorrow. Although you no longer need your mother to stay here and help you, the doctor still thinks it would be best if you lay off work until Monday."

She rinsed the mug that read "Damn Fine Cup of Coffee" in the sink before placing it in the dishwasher.

"It's just one more day until you'll be able to do desk work again, so just relax here. Do whatever you've been doing the past few days alone."

Judy opened the refrigerator and grabbed a large basket of blueberries. Her parents had been sending care packages to Nick over the past few weeks, and it was more than the two of them could eat. She dumped a few into a plastic container and snapped the lid shut. As she placed it in her bag, she stole a few from the basket and popped them in her mouth.

"It's not that you're still physically unable to go back to work; the doctor was just worried about your mental state after the incident. That's why he wanted you to finish those sessions with the ZPD psychiatrist."

Judy leaned almost all of her body over the countertop and placed a kiss on Nick's cheek.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call. Bogo has been very understanding of all of this, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind me leaving my shift a little early if you needed help."

"Who would have thought he could have sympathy for other mammals," Nick mumbled under his breath sarcastically.

"Just try and keep yourself busy, and I'll be home before you know it."

Judy ran around the countertop and jumped up to wrap her arms around Nick. She then sprinted to the front door and closed it behind her as she flashed him one last smile. As her echoing footsteps faded down the hallway, Nick found himself alone in the apartment once more. Although he had tried to make himself accustomed to the eerie silence, each morning was only a little bit easier than the previous.

With a large sigh, Nick hopped down from the barstool and walked towards the windows that overlooked their balcony. The sun had just barely peeked over the tops of some of the buildings, bathing everything around them in an orange and red glow. Nick had made a habit of watching the sunrise in the morning, even if it only killed a small portion of the days' time. He dropped an album on his turntable and poured a cup of coffee from the still boiling pot. He dragged the recliner from beside the couch to face out the window. As he let his body sink into the comfortable cushions, he felt his muscles relax for the first time in days. Although the healing had gone better than he originally expected, it still left his body sore more often than not. He had made a mental note a few days ago to talk with his doctor about seeing a physical therapist.

On the streets below, mammals of all different shapes and sizes walked on the sidewalks, rode in cars and trains, and commuted to wherever it was their tasks were for that day. Nick glanced down at his watch to see the hands give the time as 6:28. Just as expected, the unit adjacent to his balcony could just barely be seen around the corner as their lights came on. As the neighbors began their morning routine, Nick looked down at the street and waited for another mammal. Over the past few days, he had come to find that the German Shepherd that lived on the third floor of the building usually left around this time, give or take three to four minutes.

Just as expected, the dog exited the building with his briefcase and made his way down the sidewalk to the nearest subway station. Unlike the previous mornings, he was no longer dressed in ironed khaki pants and a dress shirt and tie. Instead, he wore nice jeans and a flannel shirt.

"I forgot it's casual Friday," Nick said to himself while taking a sip from his mug.

Within a matter of seconds, the German Shepherd had rounded the corner of the building and disappeared from Nick's site. Over the course of the next half hour, Nick refilled his coffee cup twice while studying other occupants of the building leave and go to their respective activities for the day. Once a fox dressed in a suit, who he had come to know as Jeffrey during previous engagements, left the building, Nick knew that his morning entertainment had ended. He placed the coffee cup in the sink and scooped a small bowl of blueberries from the large container in the refrigerator. He rested the berries on a small table in the living room before returning to the main bedroom to take a shower. Nick had grown accustomed to showering at night before he went to bed. However, the water in the building had gone out the previous night a matter of minutes before he had stepped into the bathroom.

As he turned the handle in their shower, hot water puddled in the bottom and circled the drain while clouds of steam billowed up from the ground and over the top of the glass door. He peeled the clothes he had slept in from his body, feeling the oils that accumulated on his fur causing it to stick to the fabric as he pulled it away. Nick opened the door, causing steam to spill out onto the tile floor of the bathroom. As he shut the door behind him, he could already feel the hot water penetrating the thick fur down to his skin. He spent the next twenty minutes basking in the warmth of the shower that he had so desired the previous night. Even through all the years of him bouncing around from one shady place to another, he had always found a way to take a clean shower everyday. It was both for his outward appearance and self-pleasure to be clean every day.

After letting his body warm up enough to counteract the cold weather outside, Nick shut off the water and stepped out. He dried himself off with a blower installed in the floor. Although he had never been a big fan of the device, he had it installed when Judy moved into the apartment as a courtesy to her. Once dry enough, he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out into their bedroom. He threw on a loose-fitting t shirt and baggy shorts before tossing the towel back into the bathroom on the floor. Before returning to the living room, he stepped into his music room and took his keyboard and collapsible stand under his arm.

"Jeez, I forgot how heavy this thing was," Nick grunted.

He walked back into the living room and rested the instrument on the couch. Unfolding the stand in the middle of the room, he placed the keyboard on top and angled it to face out the windows at the rising sun. He then returned to the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee. As he walked back into the living room, he took a sip and exhaled with a pleasant sigh. Placing the mug down on the keyboard, he selected the desired tone and began the drum backing track.

 **Begin "Home at Last"**

Nick brought his paws down on the keys and began to tap out the melody he had come to know by heart after many years. As the drums began to play, they were also joined by a horn arrangement. Nick soon found his foot tapping against the hardwood floor with the beat. As his paws danced over the plastic keys, his tail lightly swished behind him in time to his playing. The backing drums played a small deviation, meaning that the lyrics were about to begin. Nick cleared his throat and began to sing along.

"I know this super highway, this bright familiar sun. I guess that I'm the lucky one."

'Not bad for going without a warmup,' he thought to himself.

He took a quick sip of coffee from his mug before belting out another line.

"Who wrote that tired sea song, set on this peaceful shore? You think you've heard this one before."

Nick played the next notes with extra enthusiasm, causing the keyboard to tip forward slightly. He quickly set it back down, causing only a few drops of coffee to fly over the brim of his mug.

"Well the danger on the rocks is surely past. Still I remain tied to the mast."

Nick found the corners of his lips begin to pull into a smile.

"Could it be that I have found my home at last?"

'Looks like I finally have a home at last,' he heard Finnick's voice call from the back of his mind.

"Home at last…" Nick sang with a defeated tone.

He suddenly felt his paws stop. They rested on top of the keys, causing them to release a tone that slowly faded and died away. He stared out the window as the smile slowly began to relax. Finnick's words continued to echo in his head. The first night that Finnick had moved into his new apartment, he invited Nick and Judy over. Nick could still remember receiving that phone call from his friend. The voice on the other end of the line had sounded joyful, an almost alien tone to Finnick's voice that Nick had never heard before. His friend begged them to come see the new apartment.

He and Judy dropped what they were doing at the ZPD and snuck out the back door. Nick could still remember Bogo yelling at them from his office window as the couple took of in his Jeep in the direction of Sahara Square. When they knocked on the door of the apartment number that Finnick had texted him, they heard quickly-paced scurrying as the fennec bolted to the front door. It soon opened, revealing a smiling fox with a drink in each paw. He was dressed in khaki pants and a tucked-in dress shirt with an expensive watch adorning his wrist. For someone who always wore cargo shorts and a sloppy polo shirt, Nick welcomed the change in attire.

"Hey guys, great to see you again," he exclaimed while placing the drinks in Nick and Judy's paws.

Finnick motioned for them to follow him inside. As they stepped through the threshold, Nick could only think that for the longest time, his friend had lived in a van that smelled of booze and dirty laundry. The fact that his home smelled only of a soft spruce air freshener was a change that Nick had never really expected.

The three of them spent the evening being given a grand tour of the place. Afterwards, they retired to the living room where the conversation was aided by a bottle of brandy until nearly midnight. As he and Judy gathered their things to leave, Nick could remember his friend calling to him as they neared the door.

"Hold up a minute, Nick," Finnick said while approaching him.

Nick expected Finnick to give him a harmless kick like the two of them had always done. Instead, he was caught completely off guard when the fennec jumped up and wrapped his arms around his friend's neck.

"Thanks for not giving up on me," Finnick said.

Nick could hear his voice slightly tremble as tears began to well in the corners of his friend's eyes.

"Aw Finnick, I…"

Nick found trouble trying to continue the sentence.

"You're the only mammal in my life that has believed in me, no matter what we were up against. I just hope you understand how much I appreciate that you never gave up on me like the rest of the world did."

Nick was no longer able to hold back his own tears, letting a few of them slide down his cheeks before being absorbed into his fur. As the two foxes hugged each other, Judy pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed it under her eyes.

"If you hadn't believed in me all these years, I don't think I would've made it this far. Thanks to you, it looks like I finally have a home at last…"

Nick pulled himself from the memory of that night and back into reality. He wiped the back of his arm against his face and absorbed the tears that were streaming from his eyes. The sun had risen higher in the sky, causing the furniture to cast elongated shadows throughout the apartment. Nick shuttered and tried to forget the painful flashback while tossing back the remaining coffee in his mug. With a sniffle, he powered off the keyboard and retreated to the master bedroom. As he stepped through the doorway, his eyes immediately darted to the desk. Still sitting at the end of a collection of books to keep them up was a small, wooden block. Nick picked it up and tipped the bottom to face him. Barely recognizable against the dark, mahogany finish was the seam of a lid. Nick took the block and smacked the side that was engraved with

 _Nicholas P. Wilde_

 _ZPD Officer_

against the palm of his paw. With a light click, the seam popped open. Nick's mother had given him the small safe as a graduation gift, and he had come to use it more often originally anticipated. He shook it lightly, causing a few items to spill out into his awaiting paw.

He placed the recorder carrot pen onto the desk, leaving only an old photograph and his mother's wedding ring in his paw. Staring down at the photo, Nick could feel the familiar sting of tears begin behind his eyes once more. The polaroid had handled the tests of time well, but a light-yellow haze still splotched the white border in certain areas. Staring back at him from the photograph were the teenage versions of himself and Finnick. The picture had been taken in some back alley of City Central after the two of them had each snuck a bottle of whiskey from a convenient store. Nick could still remember the two of them laughing with delight as the tiger yelled at them from the store's doorway.

They each drank their entire bottle over the course of the afternoon, soon finding themselves drunkenly fumbling around until they collapsed in the alley where Finnick had parked his van. They threw open the back doors and sat on the ledge with their feet dangling over. As the sun set, they simply sat in their inebriated states and watched the orange glow covered the city. As their buzz slowly started to wear off, Nick noticed Finnick beginning to droop his head. No more than five minutes later, his friend's body gave up the fight of staying awake and slumped to the side. The fennec's head came crashing down onto Nick's leg. His friend's mouth hung open, causing a small river of saliva to drip out and pool on the shag interior of the van. Seeing the perfect opportunity, Nick grabbed the polaroid that was constantly tumbling around the back of the van. As he aimed the camera at them, he prayed that there was still film in it to capture the moment. After a bright flash, the device whirred, and a photograph rolled out the slit in the front of it.

Ever since that night, Nick had kept the photograph to himself. There had been a few occasions where he considered showing Finnick, but decided it was best for his own personal safety to keep the memory to himself. After all those years, Nick never grew tired of staring at the photograph. He rested it down on the desk and sat back in the chair. Propping his head in a paw, he used the other to hold the carrot pen. Although he couldn't exactly remember when, he could still recall the day that Judy had left a message for him before going to work. Although he absolutely loved it, Judy had eventually come to regret leaving such a, in her own words "sobby", message in any recorded format. As much as she desired to erase the recording, Nick hid the pen from her so he could savor the message as many times as he wanted. With a click of the leaves on top, Nick heard the pen crackle to life once again.

"Love you, Nicky. Don't forget, our love will get you through this."

He smirked and couldn't but let out a light chuckle. Every time he would press the pen in front of her, the insides of hers would turn red and her paws would ball up into little fists. No matter how many times he played it, Nick could never understand why Judy hated it so much. Sure, it was not the post poetic way to express their love, but Nick found the simplistic recording to be quite touching. He clicked the top again, causing the message to loop once more.

"…our love will get you through this…"

Nick's eyes darted to his mother's wedding ring that was resting on the desk surface. The diamond sparkled in the morning sun that was beaming through the window. He picked it up gingerly with two fingers and twisted it around between them. As the ring twirled around, he watched light dance around in the geometric wonders of the diamond. He clicked the pen once more, causing Judy's voice to fill the room.

"…our love will get you through this…"

He stopped twirling the ring. Nick stared at it and then at a framed photo on the desk. Sitting underneath the protective glass was a photo from the day Nick had graduated from the training academy. Judy had jumped up and wrapped an arm around his shoulder in order to keep herself up at his level. A large smile was plastered across her face. Nick wore a similar expression that fell short of Judy's somewhat unnatural levels of happiness. Although Nick's eyes were staring directly into the photographer's camera, he noticed that Judy was staring…

…at him…

After all the times he had looked at the picture, he never noticed that fact. Judy was staring up at her friend with a look in her eyes that he had not seen for him at that point in their relationship. Burning behind the violet gaze of eyes was love.

Love.

Pure, affectionate, passionate love…

Nick looked back down at the ring.

"I can't wait for this any longer."

He rested the pen down on the desk and grabbed his car keys before heading to the front door.

* * *

Nick hummed to himself while scooping a heaping cup of blueberries from the Hopps' care package into a nearby pot. As the music from the turntable carried from the living room into the kitchen, Nick couldn't stop his tail from gently swaying back and forth.

"And that makes two cups," he said with a grin before snapping the lid over the container and placing it back in the refrigerator.

He then proceeded to measure sugar and dump it into the pot. With a final splash of water, he stirred the mixture together before placing it on the stove. A burner clicked to life as the blue flame ignited under the pot. While waiting for the concoction to come to a boil, he turned his attention to the grocery bag sitting on an adjacent counter near the front door. He emptied the contents out, causing a receipt to drift from the bag and on top of the pile of produce.

"Yikes… can't have her finding that."

Nick quickly crumpled the thin paper strip and shoved it to the bottom of the trash can. Although he was under doctor's orders to stay in the apartment, he figured a quick trip to the market down the street would not do him any harm. Even though he would later have to make an excuse to Judy for how he got all the ingredients, that was a hurdle to overcome at another time.

He carried the assortment of vegetables and placed them down by his cutting board. Over the next ten minutes, he meticulously scrubbed, peeled and cut the vegetables before placing them on an oiled baking sheet. Nick then generously seasoned the produce before giving them all one last splash of olive oil. Pleased, and somewhat surprised, with the expert work he had done, he slid the pan into the oven and set a timer.

"Absolutely heavenly," he whispered to himself as the smell of blueberries hung in the air.

Nick returned to the pot and stirred the now bubbling mixture together. He lifted the spoon and swiped it with a finger for sampling.

"Damn, Nick Wilde, where did this skill come from?"

Extinguishing the flame, he rested the pot on a trivet. He then pulled the cheesecake batter from the fridge that he had prepared prior. Using a spatula, he emptied the blueberry mixture into the batter and folded everything together until the mixture was a stunning beige and purple marble. Emptying the batter into the springform pan he had previously baked the crust in, Nick wrapped it with a sheet of aluminum foil before placing it in the oven. He then set a separate timer on his phone.

Leaning with his back against the counter's edge, Nick looked over the kitchen and found himself with nothing else to do. Glancing down at the watch on his wrist, he figured there would be no better use of time than to clean. Just as he started walking towards the sink full of contaminated pots, pans, and knives, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Next to Judy's contact photo of her dressed like Scarlet Witch for Halloween was a message that read:

"on my way home. Boggo let me go a few minutes early!"

Nick quickly shoved the device back into his pocket before scurrying to the sink and furiously rinsing the cookware and tossing them into the dishwasher. Within a matter of just a few minutes, the sink and countertops were cleared.

"Must be a new record," Nick joked to himself before returning to his bedroom and entering the closet. As he removed the watch from his wrist, he noticed that the hands read 5:53. Judging from prior experiences with Zootopia's public transportation system, Nick estimated that Judy would be walking through the front door at 6:07.

"That should be plenty of time," Nick said while pulling a white shirt from a nearby hanger. He pulled the Mick Jaguar shirt over his head and discarded it on the floor. As he buttoned up the dress shirt, Nick scanned the rack for a tie that he felt would appropriately fit the occasion. Finally settling on the choice of a violet tie adorned with small carrots, Nick tied the knot and tightened it around his neck. With a final check of his appearance in the mirror, Nick spritzed himself with a spray of cologne. He then selected a silver watch from a rack next to his dress shoes. Breathing onto the crystal face and wiping it with the collar of his shirt, he found his overall appearance, dare he say, drop-dead gorgeous.

"Judy's not gonna know what hit her," Nick said with confidence before slipping on a pair of dress shoes.

Tucking any creases or wrinkles into his waistband, Nick exited the bedroom just as the oven's timer went off. He grabbed a pair of oven mitts and retrieved the pan from the oven. Placing the steaming vegetables on the stove to cool, Nick checked the timer on his phone. With only a couple of minutes left until the cheesecake was done, he pulled a pair of plates and accompanying silverware and placed them on the countertop adjacent to the stove. As the last fork dropped with a clatter onto the granite, the alarm on Nick's phone went off. He pulled the cheesecake from the oven and placed it into the refrigerator to cool. Just as the door snapped shut, the locks on the front door clicked. Nick's head turned to face the entryway as Judy stepped over the threshold. As she turned the locks back, her nose twitched and turned in the direction of the kitchen. Nick watched as her eyes illuminated and a smile spread across her face.

"What on Earth is that smell," she exclaimed will throwing her bag of papers haphazardly on a nearby stool.

As Judy approached the stove and pan of still-steaming vegetables, she inhaled deeply. Her eyelids fluttered as she let out a satisfied laugh.

"Who delivered these? I want to call them every time we order out from now on," Judy said while sampling a small floret of broccoli from the pan.

"Believe it or not, your favorite fox actually made them. It took a little effort on my end to find a highly rated recipe, but I'm glad I choose this one."

Judy seemed to ignore Nick's words before stealing another vegetable, this time a baby carrot, from the pan and popping it in her mouth. As she chewed the little piece of heaven, she gave Nick what he could only describe as a playful glare.

"All of this time, you've been claiming that you can't even boil an egg. I hope you understand that this means you'll be cooking dinner much more often."

As she took a small piece of cauliflower, Judy looked up Nick up and down. For the first time since she had walked through the door, she noticed the attire he was wearing.

"What's with the fancy getup," she asked while chomping on the cauliflower.

"Am I not allowed to dress how I please," Nick said while placing an elbow on the countertop and resting his head in his paw.

Judy gave him a warm smile before leaning over and pressing her nose against his.

"Something's different, and I know it."

Nick chuckled and pointed to the refrigerator.

"Despite what you may be thinking, this evening doesn't stop at dinner. Why don't you go have a look?"

With a curious glance, Judy turned to the refrigerator and opened the doors. She searched amongst the shelves before her eyes finally landed on the springform pan that was still covered by a layer of foil. Without having to say a word, Nick nodded and motioned with a paw for her to have a look. She lifted the protective layer, causing her eyes to grow larger as the smell carried out the pan and flooded her nostrils.

"I don't know what you have planned for tonight, but something tells me that you're just trying to get laid."

"You really do think too little of me, Carrots."

Nick walked over to Judy, placed his paws over her eyes and began leading her to the balcony door.

"You got even more surprises, Slick?"

Nick chuckled and guided her around the coffee table in the living room.

"I'm not sure why that should come as a surprise to you. You know how much I love trying to make everything perfect."

"You mean like the time you tried starting a bonfire during my family's campout and caught or tent on fire?"

Nick winced as the sight of their tent going up in flames raced back from his memory.

"It's the thought that counts, Carrots."

Still managing to keep both of her eyes covered with one paw, Nick reached out as they neared the door and flicked on the switch for the exterior lights. He slid open the door, causing the cool night air to come drifting over the threshold.

"Alright, Carrots, have yourself a look…"

Nick slowly dropped his paw as Judy's eyes flickered open. Along with the usual led strips that lined the balcony's walls, Nick had managed to string a web of lights above them. The bulbs randomly pulsated between light and darkness, giving the entire area a dreamlike feeling.

"I was worried for a second that you'd go with something extreme, but this is just perfect, Nick…"

Judy reached up and pulled Nick's tie until his lips were down to her level. She ran a paw across his cheek while she became overwhelmed with the sensation of his tongue attempting to entangle with hers. Just as she felt Nick slowly beginning to melt under her touch, she released him from her grasp. She turned towards the kitchen with her fox still hanging in midair with his lips slightly pursed and eyes closed.

"You're such a tease," Nick let out with a laugh as Judy returned with a bottle of wine and a pair of glasses.

She set the bottle down on the table as Nick returned inside to fetch their entrees. With the pan of still-steaming vegetables in one paw and the stack of plates and silverware in the other, Nick carefully stepped back outside and rested them on the table. Judy popped the cork from the wine bottle and poured them each a generous serving. As she rested a glass on Nick's side of the table, he in turn reached across and set down a plate of vegetables in her place.

"Here's to Nick, who it turns out can actually cook something other than frozen dinners."

Jokes on you, Carrots," Nick said while raising his glass to meet hers. "Heating something in the microwave doesn't technically count as cooking."

Judy rolled her eyes and clinked their glasses together. As she took a sip, Nick stared at her with his jaw propped up in his paw. He was giving her a lovingly stare.

"What," Judy asked with a slight chuckle to her tone.

"You really are beautiful…"

Judy smiled as she placed a bite of the vegetables in her mouth.

"I mean it…"

Judy looked up from her plate to find that Nick had not moved a muscle. His fork still sat untouched next to his plate. Even though they had toasted, Nick had not taken a sip from his wine glass.

"Well Nick, thank you…"

No matter how many times Nick paid her a compliment, it always managed to catch Judy off-guard. She could feel her cheeks begin to burn slightly. It was only safe to assume that the insides of her ears were beginning to turn red as well.

"I know I say those kinds of things multiple times a day, but I hope that hasn't caused them to lose their impact on you."

"The fact that you feel the need to pay me compliments as often as you do makes me appreciate every single one of them, Nick. Do you know how many mammals in this city yearn to have someone treat them even half as well as you treat me?"

Nick took a sip from his glass.

"Trust me, it used to not always be that way. If any of my past girlfriends heard you say that, they'd probably want you to have a mental evaluation."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure you don't really mean that."

Nick shrugged his shoulders and took a bite from his plate.

"You'd be surprised what a self-centered fox I used to be. I'm sure as hell not proud to admit it, but there are plenty of things I've done in my past that make me truly ashamed."

Before Judy let herself become upset over Nick's admittance, he reached across the table and grabbed hold of her paw. He squeezed it lightly and smiled warmly.

"However, it's all thanks to you that where I am now."

"Oh, Nick… I'm sure tha-"

"I'm serious, Judy"

She stopped midsentence and starred into Nick's eyes. The usual glow inside of them had increased in intensity in that moment to a point that she had never seen before.

"I can't say for sure how things would've turned out, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am now. Sure, I'd still have this apartment, but I can tell you that it would feel pretty damn empty without you in it."

Nick squeezed her paw tighter. Judy continued to sit in silence and hang on to every word that left her fox's lips.

"I don't really know how else to put this, but you filled a void in my life, Carrots. For the longest time before I met you, I could tell that something was missing from my life. For years, I tried convincing myself that this was nothing more than my instincts trying to tell me that I needed a mate. However, girlfriend after girlfriend began to prove me wrong. Just when I thought I'd have to spend the rest of my life with this looming feeling of emptiness… I met you…"

Nick placed his other paw on top of Judy's.

"Although it took me a while to realize it, I've come to think of our relationship as much more than being mates. For the first time in years, I found someone other than Finnick or my mother who actually believed that I had the ability to make a positive impact on this world. No matter how hard I try, sometimes I think that I may never make you feel just as strongly about this as I do…"

Judy used her free paw to pull herself up onto the table. Bridging the gap between them, she placed her lips on Nick's. Without any hesitation, he wrapped a paw around her back and pulled her across the table until she was resting in his lap. Judy reached out and grabbed the collar of his shirt while Nick ran his paw down the small of her back. Judy felt a shiver run down her spine, causing her to let out a light moan that was muffled by her partner's lips. She stuffed a paw inside Nick's shirt and felt the cream-colored fur that she had spent so many nights burying her face into. Just as she felt Nick tense under her touch, he lightly grabbed her wrist and pulled her paw away.

"I'm just as eager as you are, Carrots, but there's something I want to do first."

Judy smiled before giving her fox a final quick peck on the lips.

"You know, it's considered rude to leave your partner all pent up after turning them on."

Nick smiled as he stood up and brought their plates and glasses back inside. As he walked towards the kitchen, he turned back and gave Judy a toothy grin.

"Trust me on this one, Carrots. It will definitely be worth it."

He loaded everything into the dishwasher before closing the door with a snap. Grabbing the apartment keys and stuffing them into his pocket, Nick opened the door and motioned for Judy to follow him outside.

"We better not be going to some dive bar, or you won't be getting any of this tonight," Judy said while motioning up and down her body.

"You can rest assured that we are _not_ going to a dive bar."

Judy scoffed and attempted to call his bluff.

"Just because a One-Eyes Jack's pays the extras fees to take the Zootopian Express card, that doesn't make it any less of a dive bar."

Nick let out a light laugh under his breath while locking the door and stuffing the keys back into his pocket.

"Although they make one of the best White Russians I've ever had, we're not going to One-Eyed Jack's either, but I applaud you for remembering the name of the place after the night you had."

Judy smirked and gazed back at Nick as he caught up to her.

"You act like one drink will put me completely under."

"Last I checked, an entire bottle of wine doesn't exactly count as one drink."

"Was it really a whole bottle? Wow, that's embarrassing," Judy said as she felt her cheeks beginning to burn with embarrassment.

The elevator arrive on their floor and the doors parted with a soft ding. They stepped inside and it began the decent to the ground floor.

"That was the only night I've had to carry you home."

As the elevator slowly down on its approach to the ground floor, a chime filled the small space as the doors slid open and Nick and Judy stepped out into the lobby.

"Let me tell you. Nothing will earn you stares more than being a fox carrying around an incapacitated rabbit. A few mammals even threatened to call the cops until I whipped out my badge. That shut them up real quick and sent them on their way."

Judy let out a laugh that caused her to wrap an arm around her stomach. Whether she was doing this out of exaggeration or not, Nick enjoyed the sight.

"Wow, I wish I could remember that."

"Trust me, I don't want to," Nick said in a playful manor as he held the door open for Judy.

He followed behind her as the two of them stepped out onto the street. Despite the earliness of the evening, the streets were much less packed than usual. This allowed the light breeze to travel down the sidewalk uninterrupted until it wrapped itself around them. Judy tilted her nose up to the air and enjoyed the momentary sensation.

"Everyone must be staying home tonight," Judy said as Nick led them off towards City Central.

"That show with the dragons is ending tonight, so I guess that's why everyone is inside. I never really saw the appeal, but I know almost everyone at the ZPD loves it. Delgato was actually telling me that the final season's episodes are getting progressively worse."

"Oh well. Sounds like we were spared from that one," Judy said as Nick turned them down a corner once they reached the intersection.

"Any guesses as to where I'm taking us yet?"

Nick looked down at Judy and give her another smile. She turned her head from side to side and attempted to find any recognizable buildings or landmarks. This search soon proved to be fruitless as she looked up at Nick.

"I haven't been in this part of the city in so long that I honestly don't even recognize a single building. Am I supposed to be remembering something?"

"Trust me, Carrots," Nick said as they stepped into the crosswalk at the next intersection. "You'll remember where I'm taking us soon enough."

Nick continued to lead them towards the destination he had in mind. The entire way there, the two continued to make conversation. Nick could not remember the last time he and Judy had pushed work and all other problems completely from their minds, but he was taking advantage and enjoying the moment.

"Ah, here we are," Nick said as they stopped at an opening in a low stone wall.

The opening was marked by a pair of stone pillars that well above both of their heads. Spanning the gap between them was a simplistic metal arch adorned with the name 'West End Park.' As if a switch had turned on inside her head, Judy looked at Nick with a sudden look of realization plastered across her face.

"I remember this place now! We came her the first night I moved into your apartment!"

Nick chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I had a feeling your mind would get jogged eventually."

The two stepped from the faded concrete sidewalk and onto the cool dirt part that snaked its away among the trees. As Nick lead them deeper into the park, Judy wrapped her herself around his arm. She leaned her head into his side and stared up at the leaves of the passing tress. Out of all the parks in Zootopia, this one was the least popular, and Judy was unable to understand why. It may not have had the most trees, but it was the furthest from the busy parts of the city and easily the quietest. Nick suddenly led them off the path and onto the freshly mowed grass.

"Going off-roading, are we," Judy asked as she relished the feeling of soft ground underneath her paws.

"Trust me. It'll all be worth it soon."

As they continued further from the path, Judy could feel the ground beneath her feet beginning to incline. Nick led them up the hill until they reached the peak. Sitting on top of the mound of earth like an ancient surveyor, an oak tree stood tall.

"Does this bring back any more memories, Carrots?"

Judy felt a smile spread across her face as more visions of that night came flooding back. Nick had tried so hard to impress her the first night that she moved in. He had taken her to dinner at an upscale restaurant. Despite the bill being more than Judy had spent eating out the entire previous year, Nick assured her that it was not an issue. After the high-class experience in the restaurant, Nick had pulled a complete one-eighty and taken her to a small hole-in-the-wall ice cream shop that Judy wouldn't give a second thought to passing by. The two of them then walked with their frozen treats into West End Park and sat under the very tree that Judy found herself by once more.

"I have to admit, Nick. I had almost completely forgotten about that night until now. With all the changes in our lives and the case eating up every waking moment of free time, it feels wonderful to just let things go for a moment and enjoy life."

Nick slowly reached into his pocket to assure that the ring was still there. The familiar shape of his mother's ring played on the pads of his fingers, causing a small wave of relief to wash over him.

"I know these past few months haven't been easy… for either of us. Between me losing Finnick and then getting hit by a van, it goes without much saying that life seems to have dealt us a poor hand at this moment. However, it's been so much easier dealing with all of this having you by my side."

Nick looked down at Judy to find her starring lovingly into his eyes.

"In all honesty, I don't think I'd be able to make it through so many of the scenarios we've been dumped into if it wasn't for you, Judy."

Judy could feel tears beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. She brushed the back of her paw across her face in attempt to hide the waterworks, but only made the situation more obvious.

"Stop it, Nick. Don't make me cry tonight," she let out through choking sobs.

 _Just wait a minute or two, Carrots. Then the tears will really be flowing._

"I just want to make sure you understand just how much I've come to appreciate having you in my life, Judy. You've managed to take a self-centered con artist and turn him into one of the most respected officers in the ZPD. The fact that you selflessly gave up so much of your life just to help me succeed hasn't gone unnoticed. In the purest sense of the word, I'm madly in love with you, Judy. I'd throw down my life for you in an instant, knowing that you'd do the same and more for me. I… I love you…"

Before Judy even had the chance to say "I love you" back, Nick pulled the ring from his pocket and dropped down to one knee. Judy immediately covered her mouth with her paws but was unable to keep Nick from hearing the loud gasp that escaped from between her fingers. Nick could feel his body beginning to tremble and his throat going dry. After clearing his throat, Nick extended his open paw in front of Judy with the ring resting in his palm.

"Judy Hopps… will you do me the great honor of becoming Mrs. Nick Wilde?"

There was a brief pause as silence hung in the air. Then, Judy sprung from her stance and wrapped her arms around Nick. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder as hot tears came streaming down her cheeks. After a few failed attempts at speaking, Judy was able to make a coherent sentence.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to ask that," Judy said with a muffled voice.

"So… should I take that as a yes?"

Judy pulled her head back and met Nick's gaze. The fur under her eyes had turned a dark grey from the tears.

"Yes, Nick! Yes!"

With a delighted sigh of relief, Nick slid the ring over Judy's finger. The stone sparkled in the blue glow of the moonlight as Judy admired it on her paw. With excited laughter, she locked her lips with his and continued to sob. When she finally pulled away, Nick pulled her in closely and embraced her in a hug. As Judy continued to cry into his fur with delighted sobs, Nick felt himself beginning to cry as well. After years of disappointment and what seemed to be an eternity of aimless wandering, Nick finally felt that his life had properly fallen into place.

"I love you, Judy…"

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	22. Author's Note

To all my readers,

With all the confusion that has surrounded my account and the republishing of "And You and I" and "Starless and Bible Black", I felt that I needed to clarify some things before posting the next chapter.

The first topic I'd like to address is my absence from this site before the stories were republished. At the time, I no longer felt the desire to continue writing. The idea of forcing myself to complete these stories without the original passion was out of the question. For whatever reason, I decided to delete the stories and forget about them. It wasn't until I came back about a year ago to continue them that I deeply regretted doing so. Although I'll never get back the 150 or so followers each story had, I'm hoping that this note offers a good enough explanation for all who have returned.

The second issue that I feel needs some serious work is the overall structure of "Starless and Bible Black." I'm not going to lie, taking such a long leave of absence and then attempting to recapture the same atmosphere I originally intended for the story has been difficult. That's why I went back and restructured some chapters, as well as added an original chapter that was lost from the republished work until now. I'm doing this in hopes of making the story flow much better to the point where you hopefully can't notice that there was a year gap between two of the chapters. Whether you as the reader personally feel this has been successful or not is something I would love to know. So please, don't hesitate to leave a review or send me a message with any concerns, criticisms, or advice you may have. All is welcome.

I would also like to take some time to thank my good friend _Jack_NWH_ who has been a massive help in editing each chapter. I consult with him when I have ideas for new chapters and he helps make sure that this story reaches its true potential. I can't thank him enough for all the work he does, so I thought this would be the best way to do so. Thank you, Jack!

I hope that clears up a lot of things for my readers. I'll try to regularly update this story throughout the summer until it's finished, but I can't make any hard promises. I currently have an internship with a marine engineering office. On top of that, I'm also preparing to graduate in December this year with a degree in mechanical engineering. It should go without saying that my career comes first but finishing "Starless and Bible Black" is definitely the passion project at the top of my list. Thank you all so much for understating, and I hope you enjoy what I have planned in store.

 **\- WatcheroftheSkies**


	23. Ghosts on Magnetic Tape

This chapter uses the theme from "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me".

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Ghosts on Magnetic Tape**

The sound of Nick's phone vibrating on the nightstand caused his eyes to shoot open. They immediately squeezed shut once more as the harsh morning sunlight streaming through the windows proved to be too much to handle. He groaned and slowly extended a paw to retrieve the device that had pulled him from a deep sleep. Without even looking at the screen, he swiped it with a finger and placed it to his ear.

"…hello…"

"Wilde? Are yo- are you still asleep," Chief Bogo said from the other end.

Nick tried to rub the sleep from one of his eyes with his other free paw and brought the phone closer to his mouth.

"We wanted to sleep in. Didn't you see my email from last night?"

He gave up attempting to hide the grogginess in his voice halfway through the sentence.

"I did, but that's not wh-"

He was cut off as Nick grunted and rolled over in bed. He spoke back into the phone with his muzzle buried deep within a pillow.

"Then _why_ are you calling," he asked, coming off sounding more like a kit about to throw a temper tantrum than a slightly irritated adult.

"It's not me who's trying to get the two of you down here."

Just as Bogo finished his sentence, Nick heard a commotion. There was the sound of small paws scrapping at the phone before he could hear it being yanked from the water buffalo's hooves.

"Wilde, Hopps," the voice of a certain raccoon spoke with excitement from the other end.

Nick felt a smile pull at the corners of his lips as the familiar voice fell upon his ears.

"Ah, Dr. Strode. We haven't heard from you in a while, let alone ever hear you speak with anything but that typical monotone."

The mammal on the other side huffed and tossed the remark to the side.

"I need the two of you to get down to the station immediately."

Nick let out another groan and rolled onto his back once more.

"Is it too much to ask for just _one_ morning where we can sleep in?"

"This is extremely important."

Nick sighed and stretched his arms before turning to face the small digital clock that sat next to the bed. Bringing the phone to his ear once more, he forfeited the idea of trying to go back to sleep.

"Give us half an hour."

Without so much as another word, the other end went dead with a click. Nick took in a deep breath before setting the phone back on the wireless charging pad atop the nightstand. As he rolled over in bed, he held an arm up to shield his face from the sunlight. Looking down at Judy's sleeping form, he ran a paw across her cheek and down her neck. As he traced along her shoulder and down her side, he took notice of her increasing breaths.

"Well, what do we have here," he whispered into her ear while running a finger over her bare stomach.

Nick held back laughter as he watched Judy's nose twitch and her legs slightly kick in her sleep. He continued to rub along her body until he was brushing the fur of her thigh. Leaning in closer, he breathed into her ear and whispered once more.

"You know, you look just good enough to…"

Judy's eyes began to flutter open as Nick's voice penetrated her dream.

"Eat," Nick exclaimed while grabbing hold of her leg.

All of a sudden, Judy's eyes shot open. Her legs kicked frantically and became entangled in the bedsheets. Her naked form that was only slightly covered by the sheets went tumbling over the side of the bed and crashing onto the floor. As she scrambled to find her footing on the rug, Nick held his stomach to ease his pain from the intense laughter that rocked his body.

"That was even better than I could've hoped, Carrots!"

While the fox's laughter continued to fill their bedroom, Judy wrestled with the bedsheets until she had freed herself from the tangled mess. Grabbing a pair of shorts and a loose t shirt from a dresser drawer, she covered herself before turning back to Nick. Although she could feel her lips trying to pull into a smile, she was able to keep it hidden. The last thing she wanted to do was let Nick know that she found the act slightly amusing.

"That wasn't funny, Nick…"

Nick's laughter ceased for a moment until he caught site of Judy glaring at him. Although there was a brief moment where he attempted to control himself, the fox once again erupted in laughter.

"Your nose is even scrunching up!"

Judy rolled her eyes and walked around the bed towards the bathroom. Passing by Nick, she held a paw and flashed the engagement ring in the sunlight.

"Don't make me regret this, _Nicholas_."

Nick laughed harder and began rolling around on the bed for exaggerated effect.

"She even used my full first name!"

As Judy stepped back into the bedroom with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth, she glanced at the clock atop the end table adjacent to her side of the bed.

"What happened to sleeping in till noon? It's not even ten o'clock yet."

Nick's laughter had begun to dissipate. As he wiped a tear from his eye, Judy leaned against the bathroom doorway and impatiently began tapping her foot against the ground.

"We got a call from Dr. Strode," Nick croaked as he attempted to recover his voice.

"He said there was something extremely important that we needed to see down at the station."

Judy's ears perked up at this remark and she quickly turned to spit the toothpaste into the sink.

"Well, at least it's better than continuing to wait for another lead on Frost from that sting on Halloween night. I have a feeling that grainy surveillance footage that we just got last week from a camera on someone's porch is going to prove useless."

Judy continued out the bedroom and towards the kitchen. As her soft footsteps disappeared down the hallway, she called back to Nick.

"What time does he want us there?"

"I said we could be there in half an hour," Nick called out while swiping away at some emails in his spam folder.

Judy's footsteps stopped and soon continued as she paced back to the bedroom. Peaking her face through the doorway, Nick almost burst out in laughter again at the sight of her nose beginning to scrunch up once more.

"Fine, I'll take you out to a nice breakfast tomorrow morning."

Judy smiled before rushing into the bathroom and turning on the shower. As she peeled her clothes off and turned back to Nick, his head stayed looking down at the phone. After a few seconds of this continued behavior, Judy cleared her throat. The fox lifted his head, causing his eyes to immediately widen and jaw hang slightly ajar.

"Uh… my…"

"You better hurry and get yourself cleaned. I'd hate to keep them waiting on us."

As Judy disappeared behind a layer of condensation on the glass, Nick hopped out of bed. Sparing no time, he quickly stripped down and joined his fiancé. The two entangled themselves in each other's arms underneath the hot water. Before Nick was able to set any of his desires into motion, Judy ushered them out and onto the drying vent. Despite Nick showing his distaste for being rushed from the shower, Judy laughed while quickly stepping off the machine and slipping on her uniform.

"If you wanted some of this before we left," she said while sweeping a paw over her body, "then you shouldn't have promised we'd be there in fifteen minutes."

She then grabbed the car keys and proceeded towards the front door. Nick hastily straightened his tie in the mirror before grabbing the aviator sunglasses from the kitchen counter. Before stepping out into the hallway, he grabbed them each an apple from the bowl of fruit sitting next to the door.

"Here you go," he said while tossing it in her direction.

"This is hardly the romantic breakfast I had in mind this morning," Judy let out sarcastically before taking a bite from the fruit.

"Well, at least it's better than the microwaveable muffins that Clawhauser demands to have stocked in the break room at all times.

"I'm not really sure that's a standard you want to hold any meal to," Judy said as she opened the door to the stairwell.

Nick followed her down the flight of stairs and through the front doors where their monstrous patrol vehicle sat waiting along the curb. A pair of sidesteps lowered on each side, and the couple lifted themselves and up and in. Judy spared no time in cranking the engine to life and gunning it before Nick had the chance to clip his seatbelt. When they had finally reached the speed of everyone else on the road, Judy let off the accelerator, and the roar of the engine reduced to a soft rumble. While Judy kept he attention directed on the road, Nick was staring at her. He had always found her appearance to be flawless, but there was something different about her on this morning that he was unable to pin down. As they passed by a park, the taller buildings stopped blocking direct sunlight from getting in through the windows. At that moment, he caught notice of his mother's ring sparkling on her paw. He chuckled, causing Judy to glance at him before turning back to the road.

"And just what is so amusing?"

"Just admiring my fiancé. You know, I should send my mother a picture of you with her ring. She's been waiting for me to put that on someone for years."

Judy's eyes widened as she flashed her paw at Nick.

"You never told me this was your mother's ring!"

Her voice began to break at the end as she was once more flooded with emotion.

"Please, Carrots, I don't want to see you cry twice in twenty-four hours, even it is for joyful reasons."

Judy wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes as the ZPD came into view. She pulled into the parking lot and stopped the vehicle in their reserved parking spot. As they walked towards the front door, Nick tossed his apple core at a nearby trash can. The core bounced off the rim and landed in the bushes.

"You're picking that up on our way out," Judy said as the doors slid open.

Before Nick was able to utter a sarcastic response, a voice called out to them from across the lobby.

"Nick!"

He turned to find Clawhauser had pulled his face from a box of various pastries on his desk and waving frantically.

"I didn't know you were going to be coming back in today! How've you been holding up?"

Nick lightly slapped his paw against his stomach.

"Well, it no longer causes excruciating pain when I do that, so I guess that's a good sign. The doctor says I should be able to return to field duty now."

Clawhauser giggled and reached under his desk. As the sound of shuffling papers and sliding boxes echoed from beneath, his tail danced in the air to the newest pop song playing from the tiny speakers of his phone. He reemerged with a stack of folders that landed on the desk with a thud.

"Well it's a good thing! These are all the cases that have gone cold since your absence. I guess it wasn't really clear to everyone how much the two of you do as a team until Nick was put out of commission."

"Actually, Clawhauser," Judy began.

"Hopps, Wilde!"

She looked up at the second-floor balcony to find Dr. Strode staring at them from the railing. He waved a paw, signaling them to make their way upstairs, before turning to speak with another officer.

"As you just heard, we've already got work to do. So, if you'll excuse, we'll try and catch up at some point later today."

Nick began walking towards the stairs and Judy turned to follow him. Clawhauser attempted to tell them goodbye, but Judy cut him short by flashing the engagement ring in his direction. The cheetah's mouth gaped open and was soon followed by a high-pitched squeal.

"You showed it to him, didn't you," Nick asked with a chuckle.

"I'm assuming that the joyful laughter coming from back there should be more than enough to answer your question."

As the two reached the top of the stairs, Dr. Strode walked over to meet them. Nick extended a paw for the raccoon to shake, but this was only met with a stern phrase.

"Follow me."

The doctor pivoted on his heels and quickly walked in the direction of the conference rooms. As Nick and Judy followed behind him at a distance, he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"So much for formalities," Nick muttered under his breath.

They soon came upon an open door as Dr. Strode stood over the threshold ushering them quickly inside. He shut the door behind them and pulled the curtains down over the window. As Nick and Judy took their seats at the table, the raccoon proceeded to a black box resting on the other side. Nick squinted his eyes and focused on the faded silver lettering that adorned the object's face.

"I didn't know that there was still a working VCR in this place," he let out with a laugh.

Dr. Strode plugged the ancient analog connections from the back of the device into a smaller black box.

"I was able to borrow this from the digitization room down in the basement. The real problem came when trying to plug it in to any of the televisions around here. I was lucky they actually had the technology that can convert from analog to digital inputs."

With his other free paw, the raccoon held up a digital cable that trailed from the back of the conference room where the projector was mounted in the wall. With an audible click, he plugged the cable into the conversion box. The screen behind him was suddenly brought to life as a harsh blue color filled its entirety. This was soon followed by blocky white text appearing in the top left corner.

 _Insert Tape_

"It's taken me a lot of time, but I've been going through the massive back catalog of interviews in my archives. This was one of the first I ever conducted with Frost, and I thought it was long gone until I stumbled across it while doing some other research. It turns out the damn thing had been mislabeled."

Dr. Strode slid the relic into the opening of the player. The device began to hum as the sound of plastic parts meshing and clacking together echoed from inside. After a brief moment of silence, the screen went black and the previous text was replaced by a white arrow with the word _play_ next to it. A series of horizontal white lines fluttered over the screen before the machine reached the recorded contents on the tape. The first image to appear was out of focus, but this was alleviated as the camera operator adjusted the lens until a mammal sitting in a chair appeared. The familiar face of Samuel Frost came into focus, causing Nick to suck in a deep breath. Judy took notice and squeezed his paw under the table. Although he had not been very vocal about it to her, she could only assume the hatred Nick held for the snow leopard that tried to kill him on Halloween night.

"Alright, I think we're all set," a female voice called from off screen. Combined with the age of the tape and poor sound quality from the medium it had been stored on, the voice crackled and clipped out at certain points.

"Thank you, Diane. That'll be all for now."

Judy recognized the second voice as belonging to Dr. Strode. Diane could be heard shutting a door behind them as the raccoon came into view. He sat down in a chair across from Frost. As he shuffled through a few documents, the snow leopard did not so much as flinch. His empty blue eyes continued to stare off at the psychologist. After resting the papers down, Dr. Strode reached across the table and out of the camera's view. He returned with a microphone and placed it between them.

 **Begin "Theme from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me"**

"Thank you for agreeing to sit down with me, Samuel."

The repositioning of the microphone had led to an increase in the sound quality.

"There's no need to thank me, doctor," Frost said with a neutral tone.

"Well, you're not required by the court to sit down and speak with me. These sessions are mainly just an offering of assistance that you may choose to deny or accept."

The snow leopard lightly drummed his fingers on the table while keeping his eyes locked on Dr. Strode. The two sat in awkward silence until the raccoon moved one of the pieces of paper in front of him.

"Anyway, I'd like to state the exact reason I asked you to sit down with me today. I've been going through the transcripts from your sessions with the ZPD appointed psychologist. Although it took me a while to get them all in my possession, I've finally finished going over them."

As Dr. Strode moved the other documents in front of him, Frost continued to drum his fingers on the desk. Nick could have sworn that he had yet to see the animal blink.

"There was definitely a lot more… material than I was expecting. I'm used to patients that either utter a few words or go for months or years at a time without speaking a single word. However, you spoke so much more than any patient I've had. I guess that given the crimes that you were just recently found guilty of, that shouldn't come as a surprise."

Frost showed a brief sense of pride for the horrendous actions he had committed by smiling before his face reverted to neutrality.

"I must say that the one thing which really… captivated my attention was your repeated mention of a place called The Black Lodge."

Nick furrowed his brow and glanced down at Judy. She was looking up at him with a similar look of confusion on her face. Dr. Strode continued to sit in complete silence while staring at the grainy image of his former patient and past self on the screen.

"And just what is it about The Black Lodge that you would like to know?"

"Well, I guess let's just start by having you tell me what it is."

Frost ceased the drumming of his fingers and stared into his doctor's eyes.

"I'd like to hear what _you_ think it is, Dr. Strode."

The raccoon looked up from his papers to meet the gaze of his patient. The two sat in silence as the only sound that filled the room was a soft static hum from the aging tape. He rested the documents down on the table and leaned back slightly in his chair.

"I... What I think it is?"

"Yes," Frost said with some amusement. "I'm just genuinely curious as to what your mind conjures up when it hears that name. The Black Lodge… Now that's one that I'm _really_ proud of."

Dr. Strode paused.

"Well, given the context in which you use the name, I've come to the assumption that The Black Lodge isn't a bar or strip club like I originally theorized."

"I'm a little offended that you think so low of me that you'd believe I frequent establishments of such degeneracy."

"As I was saying," Dr. Strode said while ignoring the comment, "I believe that The Black Lodge is a place of your own creation. Besides the fact that there isn't an establish of any sort with a name like that within a few thousand miles of the city, I've listened to some of the audio recordings that the ZPD psychologist handed off to me. I can tell from the tone in your voice that just mentioning the place causes you to become excited."

Nick could see that the expression on Frost's face was beginning to shift from one of boredom to curiosity that he attempted to keep hidden.

"The tone you use to talk about The Black Lodge is the same one I came to recognize from when you described your vicious crimes during the trial. You seem to get some sort of... pleasure when bragging about all the things you've done. However, that tone has been absent when discussing The Black Lodge in this conversation. You seem to have, dare I say, come to a realization."

Frost slowly began to frown. Nick could see the snow leopard's eyes squint slightly as he focused on the doctor.

"You do not speak of The Black Lodge with such excitement anymore because you know that it is no longer within your reach. It didn't take me long to realize that this was not a physical place; at least not yet. My theory is that The Black Lodge was the final step in your plans, whatever they may have been. I believe that what you planned on doing to all the young ones that you kidnapped would've taken place there. The only thing I really can't seem to pin down is why in all of the plans you had written and sketched out, that the ZPD was unable to find a single document mentioning The Black Lodge."

This caused Frost to tap the tip of one of his claws against his temple.

"That's because I keep them upstairs, doctor. Do you really think I'd be so simple-minded as to keep all of my plans in one place?"

Frost was now smiling at the doctor. The way this animal grinned sent a chill down Judy's spine as she was tempted to look away from the screen.

"You're a lot smarter than I originally thought, Dr. Strode. However, there's one thing I want to make clear to you."

The snow leopard leaned forward until there was a soft clink from the links of his handcuffs coming in contact with the metal chair. Dr. Strode remained in his position while staring at his patient from across the table.

"Don't be under the impression that I've given up on anything. You may think that these concrete walls have permanently put an end to my plans, but don't be fooled. They're merely another obstacle I'll only have slightly trouble overcoming."

At this statement, Dr. Strode could be heard giving a light chuckle that crackled through the speakers at the front of the room.

"You're being transferred to the highest security prison in all of Zootopia. At this rate, you'll be lucky if the guards there let you see more than an hour of sunlight a day. However, I really like the spirit and enthusiasm you speak with, Frost. You definitely have more personality than any other patient I've spoken with."

Frost's smile grew slightly larger as he leaned back in his chair.

"I must admit that you really amuse me doctor. However, I think we've reached a good stopping point for today. Shall we meet again tomorrow?"

The racoon did not know how to respond to the sudden end of their discussion. After a few seconds of sitting in silence, he gathered his papers from the table and placed them back into a folder. As he stood up and turned to face behind the camera, Frost slowly pivoted his head.

"Alright, Diane. That's all we're doing for today."

As his footsteps could be heard traveling further from the microphone, Frost stared directly into the camera. Nick shifted nervously in his seat as the snow leopard's blue eyes seemed to be focused directly on him. Just when he was ready to bolt out the door, Diane could be heard coming into the room. The screen went black and the conference room was once again filled only by the sound of the aging tape hissing through the speakers.

"Everything alright, Nick?"

He looked down to find Judy staring up at him with nervousness in her gaze. He let go of her paw and ran his through the fur on top of his head.

"Y-yeah, Judy. I'm fine. Just a little shaken up; that's all."

Before she could press him any further, Dr. Strode placed a small stack of papers in front of them. He gestured for the two to look through them before returning to the front of the room to disconnect the tape player. Judy handed Nick half of the stack as she began reading the cover page. The edges had begun to yellow, hinting that these were at least ten years old.

"They're just… Frost's finances?"

"Yes, Officer Hopps, but don't let the numerous tax forms bore you. There's one document in there that caught my attention. Let's see if one of you notices the same thing I did."

Nick pulled a sheet of paper from the stack he had been given and laid it down on the table.

"That's the only form I've across so far that isn't for taxes. Stuck out to me like a sore thumb."

Judy pivoted the document in her direction and read over the top of the page.

"A rental form? I thought Frost owned the home that he was arrested in," Judy asked with a look of confusion on her face.

"I thought the same thing, Hopps, but that's not for his home. That's for an apartment."

This caused Nick and Judy to look at each other with the same confused glance.

"An apartment? I don't remember that being in a single report that we've read. Every report that we read mentioned multiple raids and sweeps of his house, not an apartment," Nick said while reading over the rental form.

"That's because the ZPD had no idea about it. Whoever was put in charge of looking through this stack must've glanced at the first ten pages or so and assumed that all the rest were the same. I almost did the same thing until I realized upon a quick glance while shuffling through all of those that one looked different."

The raccoon pulled a pen from his shirt pocket and used it to point at a line near the middle of the page.

"If you look closely at that line, you can see that the place was in Tundra Town above a bar. Besides my bad eyesight, I was lucky that the ink hadn't faded completely."

Judy typed the name of the bar into her phone and soon found what she was looking for.

"It looks like the place is still in business, although I don't see an apartment above the business being advertised in any of these search results. Could we possibly get a warrant and go give the place a look over?"

Dr. Strode shrugged.

"It won't hurt to try. Although, I have a feeling Frost just rented the place either to store all of his things or to serve as a diversion for an exact scenario like this. If there's one characteristic I've come to know Frost for, it's his love of coming up with little tricks."

Nick took a picture of the document with his phone before placing it back into the stack with the rest of the papers. He slid the binder clip back over the corner and placed it down on the table with a mighty thud.

"Well, Carrots, let's go see if Bogo well let us get a warrant."

As he jumped down from the chair and eagerly opened the door, Judy found amusement in seeing her partner ready to go back into the field. She followed him down to Bogo's office with Nick taking large, excited steps. He waved and greeted passing officers whose faces lit up with joy to see the fox roaming the halls of the ZPD once more. As they passed by the railing that overlooked the lobby, she flashed her ring down at Clawhauser one more time. This caused another high-pitched squeal to echo up in her direction. With Bogo's door now within their view, she began contemplating how the chief was going to take the news of his two best officers being engaged.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


	24. Under My Thumb

This chapter uses the song "Under My Thumb" by The Rolling Stones.

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Under My Thumb**

"Dinner, Savage."

Jack slightly turned his head to the side to stare at the guard from his pillow. A metal tray was slid under the gap in his door, causing the repulsive stew to slosh around in the bowl. As his nose twitched and took in the horrid smell, Jack sat up in bed.

"Do I at least get a side of bread this evening," he asked while stretching his arms behind his head.

The guard shook his head and began pushing the cart to the next cell.

"It's the end of the week, so stock is low in the kitchen. We need to feed the bigger inmates first."

Without another word, the wolf vanished from Jack's sight.

"No matter," the rabbit said while hopping down from his bed. "I won't be here much longer."

Jack pressed his face to the glass, making sure the guard was well down the line of cells. After confirming that the guard was a safe distance away, Jack returned to his bed. He stared up at the ceiling and focused on the air vent. Crouching as if pressing down a spring, Jack launched himself up. His fingers reached between the plates of the vent and grabbed hold of a small item. He landed back on the mattress and lifted his paw to inspect the length of metal.

"Are you ready to get me out of here?"

A smile spread across the rabbit's face as he examined the makeshift blade that he had managed to keep hidden. The guards inspected his room every night before lights out, so Jack knew the air vent was the only place they would not check. After breaking a small prong off a metal fork earlier in the week, he had spent any free time when the guards were not making their rounds grinding it away on the concrete. Although the process had taken longer than he anticipated, Jack had finally managed to wear down the sides of the metal into a blade.

"Are you done with your tray, Savage?"

Jack immediately shoved the blade under the sheets of his bed as the guard's voice came calling from down the hall. He soon appeared in the rabbit's view, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief that he had not been caught.

"Yes. Please, take the damned thing."

With a repulsed look his face, Jack slid the tray back under the opening in the door. The guard dumped the untouched contents into a garbage can mounted on the cart before tossing the tray into a bin.

"Lights out in half an hour, so start winding down for the night."

The guard continued past the rabbit's cell. As his voice could be overheard conversing with another inmate, Jack returned to his bed and retrieved the blade from his sheets. He walked over to the door of his cell and looked up at the locking mechanism. Over the course of a few months, he had managed to find a large of enough window of time when the guards were not around to open the small plastic cover the mechanism. He had made meticulous mental notes as to how it operated and had finally reached a solution on how to open it.

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

Jack pressed his face against the window to see the guard wheel away the cart of trays completely from view. After studying the schedule that the prison ran on, Jack had concluded that the end of the week, the guards spent extra time going over stock in the kitchen so an order could be placed for delivery on Monday. Glancing down at the phone the guards let him use for music, Jack estimated he had a maximum of fifteen minutes before the guard would return to make a final wellness check for the night. Without wasting another second, he quickly went to his bed and pulled it to the door. Jack proceeded to climb up on the mattress and hold the blade in his teeth.

With a soft snap, the plastic cover of the locking mechanism came off. Jack tossed it onto the sheets and looked back into the casing. A blue wire was bundled up inside, and Jack immediately uncoiled it. Using the blade, he removed a considerable section from the middle. He tossed this length of wire onto the sheets and proceeded to strip the ends of the wire left in the box. The blade slowly sliced into the casing before causing small rubber chunks to drop onto the sheets below. He spliced the two together and bent down to retrieve the wire he had cut out. Splitting this one into two pieces, Jack proceeded to strip the ends of both wires. Although rushed for time, the rabbit was cautious not to make any mistakes before placing the blade back in his teeth. Jack then grabbed the two wires connected to the terminals of the motor and ripped them off. He then followed a pair of wires that extended from a hole in the ceiling and followed them to their soldered connections on the locking mechanism's board. Making mental note of which was positive, Jack ripped them from the board. He twisted the end of the hot wire to the one had freshly stripped. Carefully, he stretched it across the casing and wrapped it around the exposed terminal of the motor. Doing the same with the ground wire, Jack brought it to the other end of the casing and to the other terminal of the motor. As a prayer ran through his head, Jack slowly took the end of the wire and touched it to the exposed metal.

A soft whir filled the cell as the deadbolt retracted into the housing. Jack felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart skip a beat. He slowly stepped down from the end table and back onto the mattress. He dropped the wire onto the sheets and hopped onto the floor. With slow and hesitant steps, Jack approached the door and placed a paw upon it surface. With complete silence, the glass panel swung open. Jack felt his mind race as the realization that his plan had succeeded began to wash over him. He placed one paw outside of his cell as if to test the waters. When nothing could be heard in response to his action, he fully stepped out into the hallway. Jack sucked in a deep breath and turned to his right. None of the inmates had taken notice of his presence. Turning left, he was met with the same sight. All the mammals were blissfully unaware that a fellow inmate had managed to escape his cell.

"The sensor for his door was tripped. Go check on that, and make sure that you proceed with extreme caution."

Jack's ears perked up as the sound of chatter over a radio came crackling through a speaker. He turned to face the open service door at the end of the hallway. A shadow could be seen moving closer to the doorway with each passing second. Without a second thought, Jack began sprinting in that direction. The soft pads of his feet allowed him to bolt past the other cells with almost complete silence. As his small frame darted past, some of the inmates looked up to catch a blur of grey fur and white fabric zoom past their view. Jack reached the threshold of the service door just as the guard came into view. The wolf's eyes went wide as he reached for the firearm clipped to his side.

Before the guard had time to pull the gun from its holster, Jack leaped into the air and grabbed hold of the door frame. Using his momentum, he swung himself like a pendulum and brought his feet in contact with the guard's face. Jack felt the wolf's jaw collapse under the pressure as he sent him collapsing into a wall. The guard's powerful frame went limp as he contacted the concrete wall and crumpled to the ground. He heaved and coughed violently, causing small flecks of blood to rain down on the floor. A tooth clacked onto the floor while the guard heaved and looked up at Jack. The rabbit dropped down from the doorframe and landed softly with barely a sound. As he approached the guard, the wolf once again fumbled for the firearm on his belt. Just as the wolf managed to get it unholstered, Jack stepped down on his wrist and caused the weapon to clang onto the floor. The guard emitted a cry of pain before Jack reached down and snapped his wrist backwards. The wolf howled in pain for a moment before Jack brought the butt of the weapon crashing down onto the back of his head. His eyes rolled back into his head as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"It's a real shame I had to do this to you, Scott. You were one of the few guards I could actually tolerate. I guess it was just bad luck for you tonight."

"Everything alright there, Lang?"

The portable radio on the guard's side crackled to life, causing Jack to jump slightly. Silence hung in the air as he stared down at the device without knowing what to do. The speaker erupted with static again before a voice called from the other end.

"Lang; are you there?"

Jack slowly reached down and picked up the radio. Holding it up to his lips, he pressed the button on the side and spoke with a calm and collected tone.

"I'm afraid he's... fallen down on the job."

Releasing the button, Jack was met with complete silence. He waited for the radio to crackle back to life but was met with nothing. After a few seconds of more silence, an alarm began to blare throughout the entire prison. The other inmates who had been oblivious to Jack before were now looking down the hallway to find the rabbit standing in the doorway with blood pooling at his feet. Jack's concentration was broken as he heard a gurgling coming from the floor. Looking down, he found the guard slowly looking up at him with blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

"They'll stop you," he croaked out with great difficulty.

Jack stared into the wolf's eyes for a final time before giving him a blow to the head with the butt of the gun. He picked up the radio and used the dial on the side to scroll through options on the small screen. Jack smiled as the words "broadcast" became highlighted on the dull digital display. Reaching under his shirt, he retrieved the small phone that had been tucked into his waistband. He scrolled through the music library and selected a song. Resting both devices on the ground, he placed the phone's speaker to the radio and turned up the volume.

 **Begin "Under My Thumb"**

Jack took in a deep breath as the sound of approaching guards could be heard from down the hallway. Their shadows danced on the walls as their shouts came closer and closer. Jack briefly closed his eyes while exhaling slowly. As the first guard came around the corner, his eyes shot open, and Jack catapulted himself into the air. The rabbit kicked off from a wall and down at the approaching wolf. Jack kicked his feet out in front of him before they contacted the guard's head. This caused the wolf to crash into a wall and collapse in a heap on the floor. As his eyes fluttered open to attempt an understanding of what had just occurred, Jack landed on the ground and pressed the barrel of the pistol to the wolf's head. This caused him to panic and whimper.

"Please, don't! I have a family!"

"Well, since you asked nicely…"

Jack moved the barrel over the wolf's leg and pulled the trigger. A loud scream escaped the guard before Jack knocked him unconscious with the butt of the firearm. He quickly placed the pistol in his waistband and retrieved the guard's weapon and mags from his belt. Jack stuffed the mags in his waistband for backup before charging his new firearm and heading towards the corner. He could hear the sound of more guards approaching as he pressed his back against the wall. He took in one more deep breath before turning around the corner.

The sound of bullets firing echoed in Jack's ears. All around him, he watched as the guard's shapes crumpled to the ground. None of them managed to get off a single shot before the rabbit had taken all five of them down. Jack paused with the pistol still aimed directly in front of him as he heard the last guard fall to the ground. He gradually let out his breath and lowered the weapon. Slowly, Jack turned his head to observe the carnage he had caused. Pools of blood were beginning to form under his victims. He stared at the crimson puddles as they expanded over the concrete floor. Underneath one of his paws, he felt the warm liquid begin to seep into his fur. Jack looked down at the blood that had crept from the closest guard's body. Bending down, he dipped the tips of his paw in the puddle. As the liquid ran down his wrist, he lifted the paw up and made a long smear across his face. Jack could feel the blood soaking into his fur, and the smell of iron filling his nostrils.

"Down to me, the change has come," Jack sang to himself as a smile spread over his face.

With the music still playing over the speaker system, Jack proceeded down the hallway towards the exit of the complex. More footsteps could be heard thundering in his direction. With one bullet left in the chamber, he pulled the mag out and tossed it to the ground with an echoing clink. He pulled another one from his waistband and slid it into the pistol. As more guards came around the corner, Jack quickly took each one of them out with unnatural precision and efficiency. More bodies fell to the floor as the rabbit calmly continued his way down the hallway. As he passed by the mass of freshly slaughtered wolves, Jack heard one of them groan. He stopped in his tracks and quickly pressed the end of the barrel against the guard's temple. Before the guard could utter a single word, Jack pulled the trigger. Blood splattered onto the wall, with some of the drops covering a considerable amount of Jack's upper body. The smile widened even more as Jack looked down to find his pristine white shirt now covered in specs of dark red.

"So much for perfection," he muttered to himself while turning the corner.

In the distance, he could make out the checkpoint that stood between himself and the outside world. Jack made note of the area before proceeding down the hallway. He kept his profile low to the ground and silent. As he approached the windows of the small office, he ducked under them and crouched down. Multiple scenarios played through Jack's head as he contemplated the best path of action to take. Before he could come to a clear consensus, the door to the office opened. A wolf stepped out, causing Jack to crouch down even further.

"-and don't be hesitant to put a bullet in that fucker," he heard a voice exclaim from inside as the guard sprinted in the direction Jack had just come from.

Before the door closed, Jack managed to quickly yet silently make his way inside. Looking to the front of the office, he was met with another guard starring directly at him. The two locked eyes for a moment before the guard scrambled for the pistol strapped to his waist. Jack took advantage of the wolf's shock and kicked off the wall. He went sailing across the room as a shot rang out. A window behind him shattered and pieces of glass in various sizes rained down onto the floor. Before the echo of the shot could diminish, Jack landed on the wolf's shoulder. The rabbit's momentum sent the two of them crashing onto the desk. As the guard's head impacted the surface with almost enough force to knock him out, Jack placed the barrel of his pistol in the wolf's snout.

"Unlock that door, or I'll blow your damn head off!"

The wolf hesitated to speak and was only able to muster a groan.

"I said, _unlock it,_ " Jack screamed as he jammed the pistol further into his snout until the trigger was pressed against the wolf's teeth.

The guard's eyes starred with absolute terror at Jack before quickly darting to a button mounted to the wall. As his eyes met Jack's once more, he found the rabbit smiling and beginning to laugh maniacally.

"Looks like you just lost your only bargaining chip," Jack let out with a demented laugh before pulling the trigger.

Jack hopped off the guard's shoulder and onto the desk as his body collapsed to the floor. He sprinted to the wall and pressed the button. There was a soft alarm as the metal gate slowly began to swing open. Without sparing a moment, Jack sprinted out the small office and towards the opening. He crossed through just as more guards appeared in front of the doors that led outside. At this point, the rabbit had come to see them as more of a nuisance than an obstacle. With great ease, Jack took every one of them out. He jumped on top of their bodies before catapulting himself through the double doors.

The cold night air managed to quickly seep under his fur and nip at his skin. Jack's heavy breathing was forming in clouds directly in front of him. As the blaring of alarms cut through the night air, Jack took little time to savor his freedom before sprinting towards a line of security vehicles parked near the gate house. He looked from side to side but found no guards within sight. Jack bolted across the grass before coming up to one of the numerous vehicles in the lineup. He unloaded the mag into the driver's side window. He then backed up and kicked off the vehicle parked next to this one. He tucked into a ball and broke through the weakened glass. Jack landed onto the passenger seat in a sprinkling of glass. The rabbit quickly scrambled onto the floor and ripped off the plastic cover from the steering column. Although newer vehicles provided more of a challenge, he still managed to start it without too much difficulty. The engine roared to life, and Jack quickly climbed onto the driver's seat. He was pleased to find all the pedals had been moved up to a wand behind the steering wheel. Although he had stolen many vehicles in the past from mammals larger than himself, it still would've added unnecessary difficulty to his escape.

Jack pulled the accelerator hard, causing the tires to spit up gravel and launch the vehicle forward. He yanked the steering wheel to one side and aimed the hood at the gate house. As the engine continued to rumble louder, Jack looked ahead to find a pair of guards starring at his vehicle from the window of the gate house. When they realized the situation that was occurring, he saw one of them slam their paw on a control panel before they both rushed outside. As the pair drew rifles, Jack noticed steel columns beginning to rise from the ground in front of the gate. He pulled the accelerator all the way back, causing the front of the vehicle to lift slightly. Jack made sure he was aimed straight before crouching down into his seat with one paw still on the steering wheel. The sound of bullets firing rang out in the night as they came speeding through the windshield. Jack could feel small pieces of glass raining down on him. The guards realized that the vehicle was not going to stop, causing them to dive out of its path. They hit the ground just as Jack rocket past them. The rising steel columns clipped the back of the vehicle, causing the now-mangled skid plate to come flying off. Jack felt the car sway slightly but managed to keep it under control.

The rabbit sat up once again. His breathing was finally beginning to slow as he looked out the back windshield. The cell block he had called home for what felt like an eternity was fading away into the distance. As they grey monolith finally disappeared in the haze of the snowstorm, Jack found himself beginning to laugh once more.

"Free… I'm finally… _free_!"

Starring through the bullet-ridden windshield, Jack sped down the road and disappeared into the night. His laughter blended in with the roar of the engine before being lost to the open air.

 _ **Edited by Jack_NWH**_


End file.
